A Glimpse In Mortality
by StarOfFeanor
Summary: *** BoO Spoilers!*** Apollo is stripped of his immortality until he can retake Delphi. Percy is offered thirteen months to decide if he wants to accept godhood. Someone has to teach Apollo how to be a human and Percy has to learn how to deal with his godly abilities. It's only logical for the two of them to work together. ***Will be Boy x Boy. Don't like? Don't read.***
1. Chapter 1

_*****Note- Blood of Olympus spoilers! Mainly who survives, why the gods are pissed at Apollo, and what happens to Nico. If you haven't read the book and don't want the ending spoiled, don't read!**_

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**I usually update my stories a few times a week. I can guarantee at least two chapters a week but usually I post between 3 and 5.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo POV**

"Apollo, you are responsible for the loss of Delphi. You allowed yourself to be swayed by lies and promises of grandeur. Because of you, a prophecy which should not have come about for ages was forced to happen too soon and as such we were nearly destroyed. You allowed your ego to blind you. You also encouraged your own descendant to follow a dangerous and deadly path. Do you have anything to say in your own defense?"

I tried to stretch my arms but I could only move them a few inches. My wrists were bound behind my back. I was kneeling in the middle of the Olympian throne room. Many of the minor gods were standing in the room, waiting to see what would happen to me. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, I was humiliated.

I risked a glance and saw my father, Zeus, glaring down at me. I wanted to defend myself, tell them that there was a good reason for it, but I knew that I had no defense that could convince the council. I could not control when a prophecy was spoken or when it would come to pass. Zeus knew that was not how a prophecy worked. He was just looking for someone to blame.

Still, I was ashamed. I had allowed my descendant to tempt me. He prayed for the gift of prophecy and I gave it to him. He spoke of great deeds and of me becoming the best of the gods. I should have known better. I could only blame Octavian for so much; I had allowed myself to be swayed. I had made a foolish mistake and now I would have to pay the price...

I looked at my fellow Olympians; my family would not show me mercy. The king of the gods would allow himself to be blinded when he wanted to pin the blame on someone. I glanced at my sister. I knew that she had tried to calm our fathers' anger but I doubted that it had been very effective. I knew it would be pointless for me to try and reason with Zeus. If anything I would only anger my father more.

"I have no excuse for what I have done. I made a mistake."

The king of the gods sighed and I saw his glare weakened. For that one moment, I allowed myself to believe that Artemis had been able to convince our father to go easy on me, and then he sat up strait and frowned at me.

"Apollo, you have endangered the gods. Because of your actions Gaia almost rose. If it hadn't been for Hera's involvement in the seven and between the two camps, we would have been overthrown. Do you admit your guilt?"

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. It took Hera exactly two days to convince Zeus to forgive her completely but he still wanted to pin the blame on someone and I was clearly the one he had chosen.

I frowned. I could not admit to something that wasn't true. I was the god of truth, I couldn't lie. Even if it was to take the blame for something I didn't do. I decided to avoid his question and reword it so it would be truthful. "I admit to allowing my decisions to be swayed. I allowed my ego to cloud my judgement and because of that I am responsible for the loss of Delphi."

I nodded to myself. _There, that answered him without actually lying to anyone..._

My father gave me a knowing look. He knew that I hadn't actually said the same thing but he chose not to pursue it. "Very well... All those who believe that he is guilty raise you right hand." I looked around the room and my heart sank. I knew that it would be pointless and dangerous for Hera to go against the wishes of Zeus, but I had still hoped some would. The only ones who did not raise their hands were Artemis, Hermes, and, surprisingly, Poseidon. "So be it. Apollo you are hereby found guilty of treason."

I heard my sister start to mumble under her breath. I looked to my twin and gave her a sad smile. We had both known what was coming. I could only hope that whatever it was, it wouldn't be too terrible. However judging by Zeus's temper over the last few weeks, it would be bad...

"Apollo Phoebus, son of Leto, the council has found you guilty. Your arrogance led to the loss of Delphi. Python has risen and has taken the ancient city and as such we have lost our oracle. Your punishment shall be to reclaim your city."

I heard a murmur go through the room. I shook my head in disbelief. _Python was my greatest enemy but there is no way that is my only punishment. I killed him when I was four days old, that wouldn't be a challenge. _

Zeus raised his hand for silence and continued. "In order for this to teach you humility... you must accomplish this without your immortal abilities. As King of the Gods, I hereby strip you of your godhood till such time as you can reclaim Delphi."

The room erupted in shouting. I couldn't hear anything through the stunned feeling. It wasn't possible. I had nearly been defeated as an immortal. Without my godhood there was no possible way to defeat Python. Even attempting it would be suicide.

I looked around me, it was pandemonium. I saw the council members yelling and fighting among themselves. I saw Artemis and Hermes yelling at our father. Poseidon and Aphrodite were screaming at Athena. Hephaestus and Dionysus were trying to hold Ares back as he tried to attack Hera. The only one who wasn't doing anything was Demeter. She was simply sitting in her chair, playing with her scythe. Even the minor gods and goddesses were picking sides. I saw Iris and Hypnos arguing with a very pissed off Nemesis. Cupid and Morpheus were already in a fist fight with each other. Hecate was just shaking her head and glaring at Zeus.

Suddenly a cry broke through the noise. "ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and covered their ears and I could only wince. I knew that my ears would be ringing for the next week. I looked around to find the source of the voice and I was stunned.

Hestia was standing in the middle of the middle of the throne room; she was looking around with blazing eyes. "We are immortal gods! Not little children. So let's act like it. We are more than capable of discussing this in a civilized manner. So either sit down and speak in turn or leave."

I blinked at her in shock. I had never seen her so upset before. Hestia had her hands on her hips and was looking around at everyone with a look of disappointment on her face. I instantly wanted to go apologize to her, I am sure that everyone else in the room felt the same way. The council members bowed their heads in defeat and sat down.

Hestia gave me a sad smile and looked back at Zeus. "That is better. Now let's try and calmly discuss this."

The king of the gods cleared his throat and calmly nodded to his oldest sister. "Thank you Hestia. Now Artemis, please say what you need to..."

I could not remember the last time I had seen my twin look so furious. "That punishment is impossible, not to mention far more severe then the crime demands!" I could see her beginning to get indignant on my behalf so I coughed and raised an eyebrow at her. Artemis took a deep breath and continued in a more respectful tone. "Apollo had a hard time defeating Python as an immortal. It would be impossible for him to accomplish it as a human."

Zeus sighed, "I believe that the punishment fits the crime. If it wasn't for Apollo's oracle, the second giant war would not have happened."

Poseidon cleared his throat, "A prophecy does not work that way. It would have come to pass regardless," Zeus opened his mouth to interrupt when the sea god raised his hand. "Let me finish, however even if Apollo was to blame, Artemis is right. No human could defeat an immortal beast such as Python."

Zeus looked ready to yell but he glance at Hestia, clenched his fists, and continued in a calmer tone, "Fine, a show of hands then. Who believes that Apollo would be able to defeat Python as a human?"

I looked around and not a single hand was in the air. I wondered if I should be offended that no one thought I could do it, but then I realized that I couldn't. Humans were far too weak and slow.

My father started to stroke his beard. "Very well then, perhaps we should find another task..."

Athena interrupted him, "Father?"

"Yes Athena?" I looked at the goddess of wisdom and I had a bad feeling.

"I have a possible solution to our problem. I believe we can all agree that as an immortal, it would be too easy for him, he would learn nothing, and as a human, he would stand no chance. However there is a third option that perhaps we should consider..." The goddess of wisdom had everyone's attention. "Perhaps, we should only strip him of most of his immortal powers. The council should turn him into the equivalent of a demigod."

The goddess looked towards our father and paused for his reaction. Zeus looked impressed, "Continue."

"We should leave him with his archery skills and some of his immortal strength. To be fair to him we should leave him with minor healing skills as well. The council should limit him to the strengths that his own children are blessed with, nothing more or less."

I looked around hoping that someone would have a way to argue with the her logic though I knew that, as she was the goddess of wisdom, it was a long shot. Eventually Zeus nodded. "I agree with my daughter. I believe that would be a fair punishment. All those who believe this is a fair compromise?"

I looked around and my heart sunk. Everyone but Poseidon and Artemis raised their hands. Zeus raised an eyebrow at my uncle. "Do you have a concern brother?"

Poseidon glanced at me and nodded. "I am not certain that a demigod would be able to best such a beast on his own. Python is ancient and powerful."

Zeus smirked, "So was our father and yet your son was able to defeat him. Are you saying that if we charged Percy with this task he would be unable to do it?"

The sea god looked at me and frowned. There was nothing he could say to that. If there was any half-blood in history that could beat Python, it would be Percy Jackson. Poseidon looked at Zeus and shook his head in defeat. He raised his hand.

Zeus nodded and glared at me, "Very well. It has been decided. Apollo Phoebus, this council hereby strips you of your immortality. You shall become a demigod until such time as you can reclaim Delphi."

There was a flash of light and the next thing I knew I was unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**_

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 1st_

**Percy POV**

_Brinnnnnng Brinnnnng Brinnnnng..._

I silenced my alarm clock and sat up. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. I hadn't slept well. I was far too nervous. I glanced at the calendar on my wall, today was the day. November 1st was circled in bright red.

I had been dreading the date for the past two weeks. The after effects of the war with Gaia had finally settled down. For the first time in history, the Roman and the Greek demigods were at peace. Now that a few months had passed, the gods had summoned the surviving members of our quest. I was very nervous and I didn't know what to expect. I rubbed my eyes and looked around my cabin.

Cabin three had always served to calm me. The Poseidon cabin was as much my home as the apartment I shared with my mom.

I smiled as I thought of my mother. Sally Jackson was in my opinion, the greatest mom in the world. She had dropped Annabeth and me off at camp yesterday evening. The other five remaining members and I were going to drive to Olympus together.

I quickly showered and grabbed some clothes. I was wondering if I was supposed to dress up for an audience with the gods. I had met them before but I never knew what would set them off. I shrugged and decided that I didn't really care. I tossed on jeans and an orange camp half blood shirt and left my cabin.

I entered the dinning pavilion and saw my friend sitting at their respective tables. Even after everything that we had been through, we still were not allowed to sit together. I grabbed some food and smiled at my girlfriend, Annabeth. She was sitting at the Athena table talking to one of her brothers. She gave me a smile as I burnt some food to my father and went to sit down.

I absolutely loved Camp Half-Blood. I looked around as I ate my blue waffles. It was strange to think that after next summer I wouldn't be coming back. Annabeth and I had decided to finish our high school in New York before we moved to Camp Jupiter for collage. My mom had allowed Annabeth to move into our spare bedroom and we had already started our last year at Goode High School.

Annabeth was worse than Paul. My mom was married to Paul Blofis, one of my professors. I had never been able to lie about what I had for homework because Paul knew my teachers. Now that Annabeth went to school with me, she knew when I had tests and insisted that I study for every one of them. I had spent more time on school work over the last two months than I had in the last two years. In fairness, I had spent eight months of my last school year in a forced slumber thanks to Hera.

I finished eating and made my way over to Half-Blood hill. I was the last one to arrive. Jason and Piper were holding hands and Hazel and Frank smiled at me as I went to stand next to Annabeth. The beautiful blond haired, gray eyed, daughter of Athena smiled at me and took my hand. The six of us walked down the hill to the van waiting on the road. I gave a smile to Argus and got into the back seat while Annabeth called shotgun. Argus got into the driver's seat and we were off.

ΩΩΩ

Argus stayed in the car as the six of us got out in front of the Empire State Building. I shook my head as I looked up at the building before me. No matter how many time I had been here it always made me laugh to know that Olympus was hovering above it, invisible to the mortals around us thanks to the mist. It was rather amazing what the mist could do.

Annabeth and I led the way to the security station. Annabeth smiled and caught the guard's attention. "Can we get the pass to go up to the 600th floor please?"

I had expected him to deny that there was a 600th floor like they always did but he immediately stood up and gave us the pass. "Here you are; I'm sure the two of you know what to do." I nodded and was about to walk away when he called out. "By the way, thank you."

I looked back at him and smiled. His reaction made me wonder who else knew who we were. I lead our group over to the bank of elevators and waited until we could have one to ourselves. I slip the card into the slot and the button for the 600th floor appeared. I pressed it and leaned back against the wall, residing myself to about ten minutes of elevator music.

Jason looked amazed. "I can't believe that Olympus is really on top of the Empire State Building. What does it look like?"

I felt my eyes widen as I looked at the golden boy. "You've never been to Olympus?"

The son of Jupiter shook his head. "No Roman has been asked to come to Olympus in the last 300 years."

I felt my jaw drop in shock, "Really? None of you have ever been here?"

Frank, Piper, and Jason nodded in agreement. Hazel tipped her head and looked at me curiously, "How many times have you been here exactly?"

I glanced at Annabeth and shrugged. "I don't know, quite a few. Not as many as times as Annabeth of course. She was in charge of redesigning Olympus after the second titan war."

Piper's eyes widened at the daughter of Athena, "Really? I thought that you were kidding when you told me you designed Olympus."

Annabeth blushed and smiled at our friends, "No. There was a lot of damage after Kronos' army attacked. The gods know that I love architecture and so they gave me the honor of redesigning all of the damaged buildings."

The looks on our friends faces made me look at my girlfriend with pride. Annabeth was amazing, how many people could truthfully say that they had designed the homes of gods?

The doors dinged open and we stepped out. I couldn't help but laugh at the looks on my friends faces. "I know right?" I shook my head and smiled.

Olympus had always been beautiful but after the changes that Annabeth had made to it, it truly looked like the home of Gods. She had managed to perfectly blend the classical beauty of Greece and Rome with the aspects of modern architecture. I wished I could have told them about what she did but honestly, I left all things involving structural design to my girlfriend.

"Holy Jupiter, Annabeth this is stunning." Jason looked at her and shook his head in wonder. "Remind me to call you when I start building the temples to the minor gods."

Annabeth blushed, "Thank you Jason. But the gods will probably already have someone in mind to help you."

Jason smiled and shrugged, "If they are half as good as you I'm sure Kymopoleia will be very happy with her temple."

Piper smiled and squeezed her boyfriend's hand. "I don't know if they will be that good. Annabeth is amazing."

I laughed and threw my arm around the daughter of Athena. "That she is. Come on guys, trust me when I say, Zeus doesn't like being kept waiting."

It took us a lot longer than I expected to get to the throne room. Annabeth started showing everyone all of her designs and explaining the inspiration for each one. I loved her more than I could put into words but after a few minutes of her talking about load bearing supports and structural integrity, my mind broke. It wasn't up to the task of trying to understand what structural integrity even was. Instead I decided to simply look at the city as we walked.

I smiled as I saw the minor gods and the nymphs. The citizens of Olympus always looked so happy. I was glad that they were able to move on with their lives so easily after the war. Both camps had survived and become stronger for it, but we had lost so many that it was hard for us to move on and forget.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize that we had reached the throne room until the doors were opening for us. Suddenly all of my nerve from the last two weeks came back in full force. _What do I do if they want me to become a god? I can't refuse twice; they were furious last time... What if they incinerate me?_

I tried to calm my heart but it wasn't working very well. I tried to hide my feelings but I don't think it worked very well. Annabeth reached up and gave me a kiss on the cheek, "For luck."

I blinked in shock and smiled at her. It was amazing just how easily she could erase my stress and nerves. I moved my arm so that we were holding hands and together we walked in to face the gods.

ΩΩΩ

I looked around the room and was surprised to see that Apollo was absent. I hoped that he was just running late. I like Apollo, him, his sister Artemis, and my father were my three favorite gods. I smiled and nodded to the goddess of the hunt on my way to the center of the room. She nodded back to me but seemed upset. I frowned, what could have happened to make the normally strong goddess look so depressed?

I shook the thought out of my mind as I bowed to Zeus and Poseidon. I had learned at the age of twelve that Zeus got mad at you if you bowed to anyone else before him. I usually disregarded it but I didn't want to give the king of the gods any extra reason for wanting to vaporize me. So I bowed to Zeus and then to my father.

Both of the gods seemed surprised by that but neither seemed upset by it. I was glad. I smiled at my father and he winked. I had a feeling he knew exactly what I was worrying about.

The six of us stepped back to the center of the room and waited to be address. I saw Hestia sitting by the fire and I gave her a small bow. She smiled at me and then turned back to the hearth. I was confused by her reaction. Usually she was far happier than that.

I examined the hearth and realized that it was burning lower than it usually did, reflecting the feelings of the gods. I looked around and realized that quite a few of the gods seemed to be oddly serious. Even Aphrodite had an unusually solemn expression.

Before I could stop myself, my mouth started speaking, "What happened?" My friends looked at me with expressions that ranged from confusion to shock.

Annabeth looked at me in bewilderment and quietly whispered to me, "What are you talking about?"

I blushed and looked at the gods. None of them had responded to my question. Artemis seemed to be the one who was most obviously affected so I bowed my head and addressed her specifically, "Lady Artemis, what happened?"

She looked at me and for a moment I was worried that she was going to vaporize me. Then she sighed and gave me a sad smile. "It is nothing that you need to worry about Perseus."

She seemed so upset that I didn't even comment on the use of my full name. I bit my lip and looked around me. I had a feeling that it had to do with the fact that her twin was absent. "Is it about Apollo? Is there anything I can do to help?"

The way Zeus glared at me made me wish that I had kept my mouth shut and the faces of my friends said that they thought the same thing. Artemis however gave me a genuine smile. "It is about my brother but there is nothing that you can do."

I frowned, suddenly worried about one of my favorite gods, "Is he okay?"

I heard someone clear their throat and I turned to see my father giving me a very pointed look. Out the corner of my eye, I saw the fierce look Zeus was giving me. I blushed and decided to drop it.

He smiled at his son, Jason, and addressed all of us. "Now that everyone is paying attention," Zeus gave me one last glare and looked away, "We shall begin."


	3. Chapter 3

**So here is the 3rd chapter. I am going to finish Could Never Imagine before I update this one again. I should be finished my other story and working on this one within the next week. I hope you enjoy, see you again soon. :-)**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

**Percy POV**

The king of the gods looked at each of us in turn. "We have called the five of you here to receive your gifts."

I felt my eyebrows furrow. There were six of us. I could see the same confusion in the eyes of most of my friends. The only ones who didn't look confused were Annabeth and Hazel. I saw the daughter of Pluto take a quick half step behind her boyfriend.

Annabeth leaned over and whispered in my ear. "They can't acknowledge her. If they did, she would have to go back to the underworld. Ignoring her is their gift." I felt my eyes widen. I had forgotten that Hazel was technically supposed to be dead.

Zeus continued speaking as though he hadn't noticed our reactions. "You have done the gods a great service and as such, you will be blessed. My son, step forward."

Jason's eyes widened as he stepped forward and bowed. Hera nodded at him, "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and my champion, you have made a powerful promise. You swore to a goddess that you would see to it that all gods and goddesses receive the proper recognition. You have sworn that you will build temples to all of the gods. This promise was too large for you to make. You will not live long enough to see your promise fulfilled."

I watched as Jason looked around nervously. I was worried for the golden boy; I felt my hand twitch towards my pocket. It was a stupid reaction; there is no way in Hades that I could fight off eleven gods at once. "Child of Rome, the council has come to a decision. For your efforts in stopping Gaia, you shall be given extend life. Like the centaur, Chiron, you shall be granted immortality for so long as you are needed. As long as there is a god or goddess that is not honored, you shall be immortal."

I stared at the stunned son of Jupiter and I felt a smile stretch across my face. I laughed and Jason seemed to come back to himself. He shook his head in shock and bowed lowly, "Thank you, this is a great honor."

Hera smiled at him, "You are deserving of this. Daughter of Athena, please step forward."

Jason stepped back and I gave Annabeth's hand a quick squeeze as she stepped forward and bowed. I smiled and patted Jason on the back. He looked like he could not believe what he had just been told.

I turned my attention back to my girlfriend and saw Athena smile at her. "Annabeth Chase, my daughter, we seem to be in need of an architect once more. You were named the official architect of Olympus but that will no longer be enough. There are many temples that must be built and the council would like for you to design them. We have chosen to name you the Architect of the Gods. From this moment on, all architectural requests of the gods shall go to you to design as you see fit."

I felt my smile bloom even larger. I knew exactly how much such an honor would mean to my girlfriend. Annabeth looked at me in pure happiness, "Thank you mother." Annabeth stepped back and I kissed her cheek.

"Good job wise girl."

"Frank Zhang, please step forward." I looked over at Ares who was smiling at his son. "You are Praetor, you already have my blessing, and so we have decided that we shall allow you one request so long as it is not to large." With that said I felt all the Olympians look at me and I smiled guiltily.

Frank looked shocked. He bit his lip and looked around as he tried to decide what he should ask. I saw him glance at Hazel and his eyes widened.

"Father, I would ask of the gods to bring the soul of Hazel Levesque back from the underworld."

I felt a smile spread across my face. I glanced at Hazel and saw her eyes widen as she realized what the son of Mars had said. Out of everything that he could have asked for, he wanted his girlfriend to be able to live without fear.

I saw the gods frown and look at each other. Zeus shook his head and Ares sighed. "That is a large request. We can do many things for you but what you ask is too great." I saw Frank's shoulders slump. Ares had opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted.

"Perhaps we should give him a little time to think." I looked at Aphrodite and saw her smiling fondly at the Roman. I could tell that the goddess of love wanted to grant his request. "Piper, the council has decided to grant you one request as well. Is there anything that you would like to ask of us?"

I heard Piper gasp and saw her eyes light up. Her mother had clearly given her a silent cue but I wasn't certain as to what it was. I definitely didn't understand it. Piper bit her lip and stepped up next to Frank.

"I would ask that the same soul be brought back to life."

I saw Aphrodite smile and turn to the council. Zeus frowned and I was positive that he was about to say no again but the goddess of love interrupted. "Two great heroes ask only to free one soul. It has been done before; certainly we can make an exception."

Zeus started to stroke his beard. I bit my lip and I felt Annabeth grab my hand tightly. It would be amazing if she could freely live again. I knew how much she worried about being sent back to the underworld. Yes, the gods had chosen to ignore her right now but if she ever did anything to even annoy any of them, she could easily be sent back to the underworld.

Zeus sighed and I felt a stab of pain in my chest. Aphrodite opened her mouth but before she could speak Zeus looked back at us. "Very well, the council shall grant your requests." I saw the king of the gods glance at Hazel before he looked away. "We shall send a message to Hades to release her soul."

I smiled and glanced at the daughter of the underworld. She had tears of joy running down her face. Frank and Piper bowed before they stepped back. Frank immediately wrapped his girlfriend in a hug.

"Percy Jackson, step forwards." I froze and glanced at the king of the gods. Annabeth gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I stepped forward and bowed. "It seems once again that we are in your debt."

I looked around me and saw that all of the gods were smiling at me, though Ares smile made me quite nervous. His smile seemed to say he was about to go on a killing spree and I was going to be his first victim. I felt my heart start to beat a little faster due to nerves.

My father smiled at me. "My son, you have proven your worth time and time again. We once offered you godhood. You refused our gift in favor of ensuring that all demigods were treated fairly." Poseidon glanced around at the members of the council before he looked back at me. "You have done more than any other demigod in history. You have surpassed even Hercules, and as such we will do what has never been done before. We are offering you a second chance at godhood."

ΩΩΩ

_Oh crap..._

I froze. I didn't know how to react. The first time that I had refused I had been an instant away from being incinerated. I gulped and looked around me. The gods were smiling at me as were most of my friends. I looked at Annabeth and she had one hand covering her mouth and the hand that was holding mine tightened painfully.

In that instant I could practically see the two paths before me.

If I was to refuse, I would stay mortal. I would never have to leave my friends or my mom. I would move to New Rome and one day, I would marry Annabeth. We would have children and train them to be great heroes. I would spend the rest of my life fighting monsters and trying to attain peace.

If I was to accept the offer of the gods I would live forever as I was, in the peak of my life. I would become the lieutenant of my father and be able to spend the rest of eternity with him. I would never have to worry about sickness, old age, or anything of the sort again. I would become a god and everything that entailed, including leaving all of those I loved behind.

I took a deep breath. I looked into the gray eyes of the woman I loved and gave her a small smile. I knew that no matter what I decided, I would always question what if...

The king of the gods cleared his throat and brought me out of my reverie. "We know that this is an offer that you will need to think about and so the council has decided to give you a chance to consider if godhood is something that you want."

I turned back to Zeus in confusion. "What do you mean?"

My father smiled at me, "You are going to be granted godhood for thirteen months. Come the winter solstice of next year, you will return to Olympus and give us your answer."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Wouldn't that be just under fourteen months though?"

Athena nodded, "Yes. Your immortality shall fade on December first. We are giving you three weeks in which to get reacquainted with being a human before you decide."

_I've been mortal my entire life, I am pretty sure thirteen months of godhood won't make me forget what it is to be human..._

I bit my lip. Their offer was incredibly generous. I knew that no one had ever before been given the chance to think about whether or not they wanted immortality, of course no one had declined before either. It was a choice that had to be made immediately. I knew that if I declined, they would never offer again.

I looked at my friends and then the gods. The gods were offering me a chance to decide with no strings attached.

I smiled, "I will accept your generous offer of a chance to decide."

My father beamed at me. I looked at Annabeth and she gave me a shaky smile. I could tell that she was happy that I hadn't decided anything yet. I gave her a wink and I squeezed her hand.

"Very well," Zeus nodded at me and looked Poseidon. "Brother, I trust that you will teach Perseus all that he will need to know?"

My father opened his mouth to respond when Aphrodite cut him off.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but I have an idea." Judging by the surprised expressions on the other gods faces, she didn't usually come up with any plans. "Forgive me for saying so Poseidon, but you are quite busy. Not only do you rule the seas but you're also a member of the council. Percy is going to need someone who will be available to help him twenty-four hours a day."

The god of the seas glared at her and I felt the Earth shake slightly. "Are you suggesting that I would be unable to be there for my son?"

Aphrodite smiled indulgently and flipped her hair. "Of course not, I am just saying that we currently have someone who would be better for the job. Someone, who has as much knowledge on godhood as any of us and currently has nothing better to do."

Everyone looked confused. Eventually Zeus broke down and asked the question that everyone was thinking, "Who?"

The love goddess laughed, "Why, Apollo of course."


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I am really sorry for the wait. So much for a week... Don't worry though. I am now finished Could Never Imagine. This story is now my main focus. Sorry for this short chapter. To make it up to everyone, I've decided to post a double update (possibly triple, we will have to see). I hope you enjoy... :-)**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 1st_

**Apollo POV**

I hated being mortal. It took forever to get anywhere. I had been summoned by the council and it took me almost a half hour to get from my palace to the throne room. As I walked through the streets I heard people whispering about me. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad as my hearing was reduced to the level of a human.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I had been mortal for just under a week and I was already tired of it. The council had given my seven days to leave Olympus. Come tomorrow morning, I had to depart.

I would never admit it but I had spent the time mostly moping around and trying to come to grips with my incredibly limited abilities. I hadn't discovered the exact extent of my limits yet but I had discovered a lot of things that I couldn't do. I could no longer flash out somewhere. I could no longer control how I looked. I couldn't see what was going on in the world below me. I couldn't summon my chariot. I no longer had any control over the sun...

The biggest changes though were the changes in my physical abilities; my hearing was only the tip of the iceberg. My eyesight was so weak that I felt blind. My stamina had drastically dropped. I tried running but it was so slow that it just depressed me. As for my strength, I was appalled.

The only thing that made me happy was that my aim with a bow was still exceptional. If I could see it, I could hit it. The downside was that without my immortal abilities, I could no longer use my symbol of power without burning myself to a cinder. I was limited to a regular bow.

Well, sort of a regular bow. I smiled at the thought of my weapon. My sister was forbidden from helping me but she had convinced Hephaestus to give me an enchanted weapon. He had crafted a bow and a quiver of arrows out of celestial bronze. The arrows were enchanted so that they would to return to the quiver with a thought. When I didn't need my weapon it became a simple bracelet and a chain. With a swipe of my thumb the jewellery took its true form.

I finally reached the throne room and walked in to see Percy Jackson standing before the gods. I bowed to my father before I went to stand beside the demigod. I raised an eyebrow at him in question. He didn't seem to understand what I wanted to know though as he was too busy looking between me and my throne. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. _Well apparently no one told him. I guess it's up to me..._

"I'm no longer a god."

It wasn't an amusing topic but his reaction was hilarious. I his jaw literally dropped. "What? But... how? They can do that?"

I couldn't help but release a small, humorless, chuckle. "Yes. They can do that."

_It's happened before..._

He simply stood there looking at me in shock. His eyes were incredibly wide. With the sea-green color, I could easily see why people said he looked like a baby seal. I gave him a sad smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. It's only temporary."

I could tell that he wanted to ask me more but I could also see the rest of the council getting impatient. I gave the son of Poseidon a look that clearly said, 'later'.

He frowned a little but nodded.

I dropped my hand and turned back to face my father. The king of the gods nodded to me but otherwise gave no acknowledgment of my existence.

Poseidon gave a polite cough. I looked at the god of the seas and raised an eyebrow. "The council asked you to come so that we can discuss your new responsibilities."

I frowned, "What new responsibilities?"

Poseidon glanced at his son before he looked back to me. "Percy has accepted our offer of temporary godhood. He will become a god for thirteen months and on the winter solstice of next year, he will decide if he wishes to remain a mortal or if he wishes to become a god permanently."

I nodded but I was still confused. I was happy that Percy had been offered godhood again. He had always been one of my favorite demigods. I was a little surprised that the council had given him a chance to experience godhood before he decided though. I suppose they knew that if they had forced him to give his answer immediately, that he would have declined.

I waited for him to answer my question but he never did. "Okay, but what does that have to do with me?"

Athena smiled, "Aphrodite had a good idea."

I tried to keep the surprise from my face but judging by the glare that the love goddess was giving me, my acting skills could have used a little work. _Stupid mortal abilities... I'm the god of the arts, why am I now a bad actor?_

Athena chuckled before she continued. "Poseidon is a busy god. We all are in fact. Percy is going to need someone to teach him how to not incinerate people. Naturally, he will need the help of a god for this. You no longer have a sphere of influence so therefore you no longer really have any duties..." I felt my jaw drop in realization. "The council has decided that you will be the one to help Perseus gain control over his new abilities."

I closed my mouth and took a deep breath. I glanced over to see the uncomfortable demigod standing beside me. "I can think of a few reasons as to why I would be a poor choice. For example, you've stripped me of my powers. So won't I be incinerated if he loses his temper?"

The goddess of wisdom laughed, "You may have lost your powers and your immortality but you are still, technically, a god. As long as you don't decide to have a fist fight with him, you should be fine."

I raised an eyebrow, "Should?"

Zeus rolled his eyes and sat up straighter. "It has already been decided. Apollo, you will teach Percy how to control himself. He will be going with you to camp Jupiter."

I saw Percy jump a little in surprise, "I'm going to camp Jupiter? But what about my mom?"

Poseidon gave his son a sad smile, "I know it's hard but it would be better if you didn't stay with her while you are a god. Demigods can handle more that humans can. It wouldn't be safe for her if you stayed there. The council has already rented you a house in New Rome." Percy frowned and reluctantly nodded. The sea god's smile grew, "Actually, it's a three bedroom house. You will be sharing it with a few people. Jason and Annabeth are both going to New Rome to start building the temples."

I saw the demigod perk up at the mention of his friend and his girlfriend. It was all I could do to keep myself from laughing. The way his eyes widened made me think of a puppy when its owner came home. It was absolutely adorable! That look made me want to pat his head. _If he does accept godhood I have to see what I can do to convince the council to make puppies and seals his sacred animals..._

I smiled at the thought.

Zeus cleared his throat. "Perseus Jackson, this council hereby gifts you with temporary godhood. Your immortality shall fade next year on December 1st. You will return on the winter solstice and give us your answer as to whether or not you wish to become a god for all time."

Percy took a deep breath and I looked away. There was a blinding flash of light and when I turned back, he was unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is the second part of the double update. :-)**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 2__nd_

**Percy POV**

I didn't want to open my eyes. I was amazingly comfortable. I stretched my arms and smiled. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept that well. I heard movement. It sounded like I had a Roman legion marching around my cabin. I couldn't understand as to how I had slept through all that noise.

I reluctantly opened my eyes to find out who it was. The first thing I noticed was that I was not in my cabin. The second thing was that I was alone. The third thing I noticed is that I could see everything... and I do mean everything.

I felt my jaw drop. _What in Hades name?_ I looked around the room in wonder. I could have counted the tiles that made up the mosaic next to the door. I could see the individual threads that made up the curtains. I could see the ants crawling on the tree outside my window...

I was overwhelmed. I frowned as I tried to figure out what was going on. The events of the day before came rushing back to me. The council meeting, the gifts being awarded, being offered godhood...

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I wasn't dying, I was immortal. There was no need to panic. I had wondered at the time as to why they thought that I would need someone to teach me how to be a god, now I understood. I had only just woken up and I was already way out of my depth. If I was going to avoid panicking, I needed to distract myself.

I bit my lip as I looked around the room. It was truly a beautiful place. The walls were done in gold with flecks of red. The carpet was a soft yellow with bright red swirls. The bed I was sitting on had red sheets and pillows and was covered by a yellow duvet. The curtains and couch were both a soft yellow. I could see into the adjoining bathroom. It seemed to have the same yellow and gold theme with just a few hints of red. It wasn't very hard to guess whose house I was in...

The door opened and Apollo walked in. He looked surprised but he smiled at me. "Oh good, you're up."

I nodded as I climbed out of the bed, "What happened?"

The god, _or should I now call him a demigod..._, walked towards me. I was amazed at just how loud his steps were. I couldn't believe that anyone made that much noise. I had always wondered as to how gods simply appeared out of nowhere but if that is how mortals sounded, I could understand. I imagined with heightened senses, it would put a new meaning to the word 'sneak'.

"You're a god now. Every time someone switches between mortality and immortality, it causes them to pass out." He smiled, "I take it your feeling a little overwhelmed by everything at the moment?"

I nodded. "I never knew that your hearing was so... intense. I woke up and it sounded like someone was stomping around right next to my bed. I'm really glad I'm not in my mom's apartment right now. I could only imagine how traffic sounds."

Apollo laughed and I was stunned. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I could hear several different notes all on top of one another, creating a harmony. If laughter sounded so intense then I wanted to listen to all of my favorite songs. I wondered how it would sound to me the next time I heard Annabeth laugh. I wondered what else I could hear...

The god of the sun, _I decided to just keep calling him a god_, smiled. "Don't worry, you will get used to it soon. After a few weeks you won't be so overwhelmed by everything. It's like that for all young gods. I still remember when Hercules became an immortal; he seemed to forget that all gods have amazing hearing. He went around quietly whispering things under his breath all the time. It was fine when he was doing it to mortals who couldn't hear him, not so much when he made a joke about Hera."

I smiled at that. I had never met Hercules personally but from what Piper and Jason told me, he was a jerk. "I take it Hera didn't take to kindly to that?"

Apollo scratched his ear and gave me a sheepish smile, "She locked a herd of cows in his palace for a month."

I felt my eyes widen before I started to laugh. I saw Apollo cover his ears and wince. I stopped laughing and looked at him in question. "What's wrong?"

He rubbed his ears and lowered his hands. "That was a little loud." I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion. He cleared his throat, "Like Zeus when he's angry loud."

_It didn't sound loud to me..._

I was puzzled, "Really?"

Apollo nodded, "Yes but don't worry. It's a minor thing. It's not enough to really hurt anyone, though it may give people a headache."

I frowned. I didn't want to hurt anyone. "How do I stop myself from doing that?"

He shrugged, "You can't. Our voices tend to get really loud based on our emotions. For example the funnier something is, the louder we laugh. It's not something that you will ever really stop doing. It just happens."

"Oh." I frowned. I had been a god for less than an hour and I had already unintentionally caused someone pain.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm fine. As I said, it won't really hurt anyone."

I sighed and nodded. I needed to change topics. "So when are we leaving for New Rome?"

Apollo smiled and pointed to a stack of clothes at the end of the bed. "We leave as soon as you get changed."

"I haven't packed anything yet though. All of my clothes are still at my moms."

Apollo shook his head, "Everything is already in New Rome waiting for you. Poseidon had Sally pack everything and Hermes shipped it all there for you. All you will have to do is unpack." I wasn't entirely certain as to how I felt about that. I wasn't used to having everything done for me.

I watched him leave before I grabbed my clothes and went to the bathroom to get ready.

I quickly showered and got changed. By the time I came back into the room Apollo had returned with a piece of Ambrosia the size of a toaster waffle. He handed it to me and I became a little nervous. There was way more than enough to turn a few demigods to cinders. Logically I knew that it would no longer kill me but it was hard to overpower nearly six years of habit.

The sun god laughed and shook his head, "I know what you're thinking but don't stress. It's not going to kill you. Trust me, you want to eat it. You will feel better if you do."

I tilted my head. "I thought gods didn't have to eat."

He shrugged, "Technically you don't have to eat human food. It doesn't really do anything but taste good. You still have to eat something though. No living thing can go completely without food."

"But gods are immortal, it's not like you could starve to death."

Apollo rubbed his forehead. I could see that I was already wearing down his patience. "True, but you would get weaker and weaker and as your strength goes, so does your control over your abilities. It's a lot easier to lose control of your powers than it is to keep it. So, as a favor to the citizens of New Rome, just eat it."

I blushed. I wasn't even entirely certain as to why I was arguing with him. I had eaten Ambrosia before and it was delicious. I supposed that I was just nervous. Eating it without turning into a cinder would prove to me that I was no longer a mortal.

I took a deep breath and took a bite. It tasted exactly like my mom's blue chocolate chip cookies. I smiled as I silently finished my breakfast. As long as I thought of it as a cookie and not something that would have killed me only yesterday, I was fairly certain that I could keep it together.

I swallowed the last bite and looked at Apollo. "Okay, so how are we getting there?"

"Well, normally I would just summon my chariot and drive us but as I'm technically a demigod now I can't. Nor can I use the mist to convince someone that we have tickets for a bus."

I stood up straighter at that. I had never been able to master that skill before. "If I'm a god now does that me I can control the mist?"

Apollo nodded hesitantly, "You will be able to but that's not something that you're going to immediately master. Learning to control the mist is probably going to take you a few months."

I sighed, "So much for that idea." I was a little disappointed that I couldn't yet do it but I was excited that it was something that I was going to be able to do. I tried to think of a way to get the two of us to California. "I could always call Blackjack and Porkpie."

Apollo looked rather confused, "Who?"

"They're Pegasai. Blackjack is a good friend of mine, same with Porkpie."

Apollo nodded, "Sounds good. It's much better than hitchhiking." Apollo gestured for me to follow him as he left the room. I rushed to catch up.

The entire house seemed to be done in the same color scheme as the room I had woken up in. I was amazed. His house was huge. It was more a palace than a house. He led me down a hallway and three flights of stairs. It was nearly as big as my mother's apartment complex. It took us almost five minutes to get from the bedroom to the front door.

I couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped me when I finally caught sight of the entry hall. Apollo looked over his shoulder at me and raised an eyebrow. "That's a rather long walk to answer the door bell."

The god of the sun flashed me a smile, "I usually don't have to walk. It's much faster to teleport."

I felt my eyes widen as I grinned, "Is that something I'm going to be able to do?"

"Yep, all gods can. Though, that is one skill that is difficult to master. If you're not 100% focused, you can easily end up either halfway through a wall or on the other side of the world."

I winced, immortal or not, being stuck in a wall sounded painful.

I noticed two bags set beside the door. "Is that your stuff?"

Apollo shook his head, "No. I convinced Hermes to deliver my stuff when he was moving yours. That is just extra clothes and such for us. Going clear across the country isn't a short trip."

"You packed my bag too?"

Apollo gave me a sheepish look, "Actually my sister did. It's been a while since I've camped. She kinda guessed that I wouldn't think to pack anything."

I shook my head in amusement, "I guess I can understand that."

We grabbed our bags and walked outside. I put my fingers to my lips and whistled. I saw Apollo wince, "How about a little warning next time?"

"Sorry." I turned around to see what his house looked like from the outside. It reminded me of the Apollo cabin at camp only super-sized. It had the same pillars and it seemed to glow in the sun.

"So how long has it been since you went camping?"

Apollo looked at me and frowned. "To be honest, I don't remember. The great outdoors has always been my sister's thing, not mine. I don't mind the outdoors but I'm not exactly one of those, 'let's go sleep in the middle of the woods' guys either."

I chuckled, "This sounds like it's going to be fun."

I heard the sound of hoof beats and turned around. Blackjack ran up to me with Porkpie close behind.

_"Hey boss."_

I laughed at the familiar nickname, "Hey Blackjack, Porkpie."

_"Hey boss, you smell different."_

I ran a hand through my hair, "Ya I guess I would. I'm kinda a god now."

The Pegasus reared and tossed his head. _"No way, cool! Do I still get to be your ride?"_

I smiled, "Always. I was actually hoping the two of you would be able to take us to Camp Jupiter."

Blackjack shook his mane in pleasure, _"Sure thing boss. So who's your friend? He looks familiar."_

I laughed, "Ya I bet he does. Blackjack, Porkpie, meet Apollo. Apollo, meet Blackjack and Porkpie."

Porkpie looked surprised, _"As in the god Apollo, my lord?"_

"That's the one."

Apollo looked between me and the pegasai. "You know your father does the same thing. It's still just as strange when you do it."

I shrugged, "They talk to me. It would be rude to ignore them."

Blackjack walked up to me and snorted, _"He doesn't smell like a god."_

I put my hand on his flank, "Long story. So can we get that lift?"

_"Sure boss, hop on."_

I climbed on Blackjacks back as Apollo did the same with Porkpie. As soon as we were settled they took off. It didn't matter how many times I had ridden a Pegasus, it was always the same sense of wonderment. There was no comparison to how it felt flying through the sky with Blackjack.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the Twilight-ish-ness of the last chapter. It wasn't intentional. But try to imagine you woke up and suddenly had super abilities. It would take a little while to get used to them. I go for a week without my glasses and when I put them back on I spend the next two hours feeling like I have supervision. LOL**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 2nd_

**Apollo POV**

We decided to call it a day just as the sun was beginning to set. I may not have been a horse whisperer like Percy was but I could still tell that the pegasai were tired. We landed and I gratefully got down.

I had never spent that long on a Pegasus in my entire immortal life. I watched as Percy hoped off of the black one and patted its neck. I shook my head. I couldn't understand how anyone could be so comfortable on horseback for an entire day. I felt myself wincing as I took a few steps away, dropped my bag, and collapsed to the ground. They had invented chariots so that one wouldn't need to spend so long on horseback...

I heard Percy start laughing and focused my gaze on him. He smirked at me before he turned back to the winged horse. "Ya, I know." I heard the horse snort in reply. "I'm sure he will get used to it. He's to accustom to driving everywhere." The horse shook his mane and neighed. Percy chuckled. "It's okay, I think I got this. Why don't the two of you go eat? We will see you guys at dawn."

The pegasai reared before they took off into the sky. I couldn't help but wonder what exactly they had said. Percy watched them leave before he came and sat down beside me.

I tilted my head to face the young hero. "It's still strange to me that Poseidon and his descendants can talk to horses and sea life. I sort of understand the horses, I mean Poseidon created them, but fish? My father is the lord of the sky but that doesn't mean he can talk to birds."

Percy shuddered before he burst out laughing. "Thank goodness. Could you imagine if he did? Nothing would ever be kept a secret. Fish are terrible gossips but at least they are confided to the water. Birds could go everywhere."

I couldn't help but join in on his laughter. "I suppose that it is for the best then."

Our laughter faded and I took the opportunity to take in our surroundings. We had set down at the edge of a meadow. There was a small grove of trees on one side and there was a creek running along the edge of the woods. I couldn't see any signs of civilization. It was rather peaceful.

"So what did our equine friends have to say?"

Percy raised an eyebrow and started to chuckle. "They figured you were scared. They noticed how happy you were to land by the way you were practically kissing the ground. They wanted to make sure that you were alright."

I huffed and sat up. "I was not kissing the earth. I love being in the air. I am the god of the sun."

The son of Poseidon smirked, "You love being in the air hey? You went like two steps before you collapsed. You were practically rolling in the grass."

I felt a bit of blood rush to my cheeks. "I was just rather glad to be back on solid ground."

"I thought you just said you loved being in the air?"

I glared at the son of the sea god. "I do but I am not accustomed to riding a horse for that long."

Percy's reply was cut off when a loud growl came from my abdomen. I winced in pain but chose to ignore it. I wasn't entirely certain as to why it kept doing that but I had grown accustom to it happening over the last seven days.

Percy's eyes grew wide and he started to laugh. "Was that you stomach?"

I frowned in confusion. "Yes, it's been doing that all day."

Percy gave me a surprised look. "Why didn't you tell me you were hungry? We could have stopped."

I shrugged. "I am hungry but it's manageable. I just ate last night."

The son of the sea god fixed me with a disbelieving look. "I'm sorry, did you say last night?"

I nodded, "Of course. I've been eating every day. Is that not what mortals do?"

"How many times a day have you been eating though?" My stomach growled even louder than before. He shook his head, "By how loud your stomach is, I'm going to say that you haven't been eating your three square meals a day."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Are you trying to tell me humans have to eat three times every day? I'm the god of medicine. I happen to know for a fact a human can survive two to three weeks without food as long as they have water."

The son of the sea god dropped his head in his hands and started laughing. I couldn't understand what was so funny. He looked up at me and shook his head.

"Yes, humans can survive without food but you should still be eating more than once a day. Your stomach growling like that is its way of telling you to feed it. You should be making sure to have at least two to three meals a day."

I frowned. "I think you are exaggerating. Gods usually only eat once every day or two."

Percy ran a hand through his hair and grabbed his pack. "I'm not. Either way, you can ask people once we get to New Rome if you think I'm lying to you. For now, let's feed you. I'm fairly certain that if your stomach gets any louder it will start registering on the Richter scale."

ΩΩΩ

**Percy POV**

I opened the bag that Artemis had packed. I hadn't had a chance to go through our supplies yet. I pulled out a silver sleeping bag and set it aside. I was a little surprised to see that the clothes she had packed were the ones I had taken to camp with me. Either she or one of her huntresses must have gone to my cabin to get them.

I pulled out a container and opened the lid. It was full of ambrosia. I resealed it and set it beside the sleeping bag. I took the thermos of nectar and set it aside as well. I dug through the rest of my pack but didn't see any regular food or medical supplies. I tilted my head in confusion before I realized that the bag was mine, any mortal provisions would probably be in Apollo's pack. I put the godly food back in my bag and closed it.

I shook my head. It was still difficult to think of myself as a god. I caught Apollo's eye and motioned to his bag. The sun god shrugged and passed it to me.

I opened the pack and removed his sleeping bag. Neither of us had a tent so I could only hope that it didn't rain. As soon as the sleeping bag was removed I could see that his pack was more like what I was used to. I set aside the first aid kit and baggy of ambrosia. I took out a bag of trail mix and a jug of water. I dug through his remaining supplies before I found the matches. I set them next to the food and returned his first aid kit and ambrosia to the bag.

We went to the trees and started scrounging for firewood. We were lucky that there was a lot of dead fall. I had riptide but I didn't want to use my sword to cut down a tree. We brought the wood back to our camp and set about making a fire. I had to admit, even if Apollo hadn't been camping in ages, he was still pretty handy when it came to lighting a fire. I had fought with the first few matches before he took the book away from me. One match and we had a crackling fire.

ΩΩΩ

We sat in silence as he ate. It was a rather strange feeling for me to not be hungry. I had eaten in the morning but I was still full. When he finished his dinner and returned the remaining supplies to his pack, I unrolled our sleeping bags.

I lay in my blanket and looked up at the night sky. It had been a while since I had been camping. I hadn't gone since the quest to free Thanatos. When we were on the quest to keep Gaia from rising, we had the Argo. I couldn't really count the time I spent in Tartarus as camping. With the flames casting a flickering light on the night around us I felt at peace.

I heard a sigh and looked over to see that Apollo was also staring at the night sky, specifically the moon. Before I could stop myself, I spoke. "So what exactly happened?"

Apollo turned to stare at me from across the fire. "I take it you are referring to the fact that I am now mortal?" I nodded. He turned on his side and ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "Zeus was pissed about the second giant war. He thinks that if the prophecy about it had never been spoken then it would never have happened. He thinks that it's my fault that it came to pass so soon after the second titan war."

I frowned, "Is that true? Would it never have happened if the prophecy hadn't been spoken?"

The god of prophecy shook his head, "No. I have no control over when a prophecy is spoken or when it comes to pass and he knows it. He's just looking for a scapegoat." I heard thunder rumble in the distance but the god of healing just rolled his eyes.

"Why does he need a scapegoat though? We won; shouldn't that be enough to calm him down?"

Apollo gave me a sad smile, "For one who has done so much, you are very innocent. He is glad that we won but he didn't want it to happen this way. The reason that you were offered godhood for a second time is that we are indebted to you. He was upset that Kronos was defeated by you. Plus you are the reason that we were able to defeat Typhon. You came up with the plan that took down the greatest threat to Olympus when none of us gods could. Now here we are one year later and once again you help save Olympus. He feels like it made the gods seem weak."

"But what does that have to do with you?"

He shrugged, "He miscalculated. After you defeated Kronos he shut the gates of Olympus to try to stop the second great prophecy. Obviously that didn't happen. Since his way of stopping it made the gods look bad he wants to reflect that criticism onto someone else. He could have used Hera because she disobeyed his direct command but he decided against it as all of Olympus and both camps know her plan is the reason that the Romans and Greeks were able to make peace. Without her, Gaia would have won. So instead he chose me. A lot of the gods are already mad at me because I lost Delphi."

I was confused, "What do you mean you lost it? Isn't Delphi a city? How do you lose a city?"

Apollo chuckled. Amusement twinkled in his sky blue eyes, "I didn't mean that I had literally lost a city. I know where it is. When the doors of death were open, anything that wanted to could get out of Tartarus. Because of my amazing luck, one of the monsters that Gaia released was Python."

I felt my eyebrows pull together. "I don't think I've heard of that one."

Apollo looked surprised, "Really? It's one of my greatest triumphs."

I shrugged and rolled onto my stomach. "Sorry. I know quite a few myths but I still have lots to learn."

The sun god smiled brightly, "That's alright. This means I get to tell you of my awesomeness."

I winced, "Why is it I sense some poetry coming along..."

Apollo winked at me. "You should feel honored; few people have heard the story of my greatest victory from me personally."

I playfully scoffed and sat up, "I'm pretty sure that you have probably told this story a lot actually. Would I be correct in saying that you have told it too nearly every girl that you've ever schmoozed?"

Apollo coughed and looked away, "Well, few people who are currently alive have heard this story from me personally."

I laughed. "Alright go ahead, but no poetry."

He chuckled but went on with his story. "When Hera found out that my mother, Leto, was pregnant, she was livid. She wanted to punish Zeus for his unfaithfulness but as he is the king of the gods, obviously that was out of the question. So she forbade my mother from giving birth on any island or mainland attached to the earth."

I tilted my head in confusion, "But wouldn't that make it impossible for her to ever find somewhere? I mean, everything is attached to the earth right?"

He rolled his eyes in amusement. "Well that was her intent. As if that wasn't enough, Hera sent the earth dragon, Python, to chase her everywhere she went just to make sure that she could never find a place to rest and give birth. Fortunately for Artemis and I, the floating isle of Delos gave sanctuary to our mom. All of the goddesses begged Hera to allow Eilethyia, the goddess of childbirth, to come and help my mother. Artemis was born and, nine days later, I was too."

I smirked and raised my eyebrow, "You know you just admitted that Artemis is older right?"

Apollo winked, "Prove it. Besides even if you told her, I would deny it." He cleared his throat and continued the story. "When I was four days old I convinced Hephaestus to make me a golden bow and a set of arrows. I then went and used said weapon to kill Python in revenge for chasing my mother. After its death, I created the Oracle of Delphi in the cave that Python once inhabited."

"Okay, but how exactly does Python being reborn translate to you losing Delphi?"

"As I said, Delphi was its original home. Not only that, but it is the source of all of prophecies. As long as Python is alive and in control of Delphi, my oracle has no powers of prophecy. Nor do I for that matter. I have to retake the city. That is my punishment. I was stripped of my godhood until I kill Python."

"I'm sure you can do it again. If you did it when you were four days old, how hard could it be now? I mean, you have a heck of a lot more experience now."

Apollo sighed again. "Perhaps, but I no longer have my immortality to protect me. If I die, that's it."

I frowned. I could tell how much he was worrying about it, "Hey, no worries. You have time to figure out a plan. We can talk to Annabeth if you'd like. She is a master when it comes to planning. I would have died a long time ago without her help."

The god of music looked surprised. He gave me a grateful smile. "I'm supposed to do it on my own but I will keep it in mine. Now come, we should both get some sleep."

I lay back down and tried to get comfortable. I could understand why Apollo was nervous. If I had been born a god, I would probably be nervous without the knowledge that no matter what happened I couldn't die.

I smiled as I saw the huntress constellation moving across the sky. Apollo may have thought that he had to do it alone but I knew that I would help. If he was going to be helping me learn how to master godly abilities then the least I could do was help him master his human ones.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay, another double update for you guys. Aren't I nice? :-) A special thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed. Enjoy...**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 3rd_

**Apollo POV**

I felt like I had been run over by a herd of cattle. I groaned and I stretched my arms. I couldn't understand as to why my back hurt so badly. Whatever I was sleeping on felt hard as a rock. My hands dropped to my side and I felt something scratching against my skin. It almost felt like grass. I frowned and opened my eyes. I saw the dark sky above me. The light of dawn was just beginning to creep over the horizon.

_Oh, well that explains it..._

I looked around at our campsite. Percy was still sleeping on the other side of the now extinguished fire. I sat up, wincing at the pain in my back. It had been a long time since I had slept on the ground. _As if I hadn't already been sore enough from riding that Pegasus..._

I glanced at Percy and shook my head. I couldn't help but marvel at the child of Poseidon. How exactly could anyone be so used to sleeping on the ground? He seemed so accustomed to doing things like this. His head was resting on his pack and he had a trail of drool at the corner of his mouth. I wouldn't have thought it would be particularly comfortable but he looked blissful.

I was a little jealous. It had taken me a long time before I had finally fallen asleep. Even though my mortal form was exhausted, my mind wouldn't stop. I kept thinking of my sister. I knew how worried she was about me. I had always been her overprotective brother, but she had felt the same protectiveness for me. I knew that it was killing her that she was not able to help me.

We may have been opposites in so many ways but she was still my twin. She was worried that I would die attempting to kill Python. I wished that there was a way to sooth her fears but I couldn't think of anything that would do so as long as I was still mortal. I knew that I would be just as worried about her if our places were reversed. That was why she had disobeyed our father in order to ask Hephaestus to make me a weapon.

I smiled as I swiped my thumb over the bracelet. I felt the metal shift until I held a bronze long bow. I felt the weight of my quiver settle against my back. I may have missed my golden bow, my symbol of power, but the weapon in my hands was still beautiful. I rested the bow on my lap as my fingers traced the patterns of suns and clouds that adorned the bow. The word ηλιαχτίδα was written along the upper curve. _ηλιαχτίδα, Sunbeam..._ I smiled and shook my head just as I had when I first read the name. The god of blacksmiths had a strange sense of humor. Only he would craft a weapon for the god of the sun and name it Sunbeam. How cliché...

I saw Percy stretch his arms as he sat up. I touched the ends of the bow and it once again became a bracelet. He rubbed a hand over his face and shot me a sleepy smile.

I returned it with a smirk, "It's nice to see you finally up."

The son of Poseidon raised an eyebrow at me, "What's that supposed to me? It's only like eight in the morning."

I shrugged, "I'm used to being up fairly early, having to drive the sun and all."

Percy nodded and grabbed my bag. He opened it and tossed me a bag of dried fruit. I sighed but ate it without complaint. I still had a hard time believing that mortals ate so often but at least doing so stopped the pain in my stomach.

While I ate, Percy rolled up our blankets and put them back into the bags. "So I guess that makes you an early bird hey? Being the god of the sun and all?"

I swallowed the fruit I was chewing and chuckled, "Ya, I suppose that you could call me that."

I wasn't entirely certain that he had heard me. Halfway through my response, Percy's focus switched to something behind me. I turned around to see the two Pegasai from yesterday landing. I frowned and continued eating my fruit. I was not looking forward to another full day of riding.

ΩΩΩ

By the time the sun began to set I felt like I was going to pass out. A nearly sleepless night combined with a mortal form I wasn't used to and two full days of horseback riding certainly had a way of destroying my mood. If that wasn't enough to make me cranky, we ended up flying through a small snow storm. I was cold, tired, and irritable. Once we had landed, I nearly fell off the beast in my desire to get down. Being mortal sucked...

I heard a whinny followed by snickering. I turned to glare at the child of the sea god. His smile fell a little. I huffed as I dropped my bag and sat on the ground. I was in no mood to be insulted by anyone. Especially not by someone who had been a god for two days or his pet horse.

I heard him whisper something but I couldn't hear what was said. I heard galloping and watched as the two pegasai took to the air.

I shivered a little. I reached into my pack and pulled out an extra jacket. The further we got away from the sea, the colder it seemed to get. At least we were heading south. That would help, though I was still glad that my sister had given us two of the sleeping bags used by her hunt. They were far warmer than any other blankets would have been.

I was distracted from my musing when a pile of wood was dropped to the ground beside me. I jumped a little. I looked up and saw Percy grabbing the matches from my bag. I hadn't even heard him walking away.

Percy cleared his throat, "I'm sorry if I offended you Apollo. I promise I wasn't laughing at you."

I watched as he, once again, attempted to build a fire. He may have been accustomed to sleeping in the wild but he was still obviously a child of the twenty-first century. I was always surprised by just how many mortals nowadays were never taught to build a fire.

I sighed as I took the matches from him. "You can't simply pile wood together and expect it to light. Here, I will show you."

I picked out the smallest twigs first and formed a cone. I then grabbed a few slightly bigger ones and leaned those against the cone. I continued piling larger sticks onto the tepee until I had a few of the thickest branches leaning against it. I then lit a match and held it to the smallest twig. Once it was lit I moved the match to another twig on the other side of the tepee. After the two twigs were burning I blew out the remainder of the match.

The fire grew slowly and after a few minutes it had started to lick at the largest logs.

"It works better if you have paper or something to put in the very middle."

Percy shook his head and looked at me in amazement, "How is it that you make it look so easy? I've tried to build a fire dozens of times but it never works out."

I couldn't help it, I started to laugh. The temporary god was looking at me like I had lost my mind but I couldn't stop. It took me a few minutes before I could get my breathing under control though I still let out a chuckle here and there.

Percy tipped his head in confusion. "What exactly was so funny?"

I took a deep breath and tried to stop myself from laughing again. "I am the god of music, art, poetry, archery, light, reason, healing, prophecy, and the sun. I killed the Python. I won the very first Olympic Games. Not to mention that I am especially handsome if I do say so myself. I have so many awesome characteristics. You've never been amazed by any of the gods before. Yet you are impressed because I can light a campfire?"

The son of the sea god blinked before he started to laugh. "Okay, when you say it like that I kind of see your point."

I joined in with his laughter. Percy had such a unique way of looking at the world. I couldn't ever recall having a conversation with the half-blood that didn't end with me smiling. True, I was a fairly smiley god but still. No one could make me laugh as much as the son of Poseidon.

My sister had always been the only person who was able to calm me down once I had lost my temper. I was surprised that Percy had managed to do it. I knew that if she ever learned that he had not only calmed me but also made me laugh, she would never allow him to refuse immortality. She had been trying to find someone else capable of helping her with the task for the last few millennia.

She had always said that I had inherited fathers temper...

Percy smiled at me. He opened his mouth to say something before he suddenly jumped to his feet. I wanted to ask what was wrong but I didn't get the chance. His eyes widened as he looked around us. His sword suddenly appeared in his hand.

I felt my heart starting to beat faster. I climbed to my feet as quickly as I could and brought out my bow. If Percy was armed then I no longer needed to ask what was going on. It was obvious. We were under attack.

I looked around us but I couldn't see anything beyond the trees surrounding our meadow. I silently cursed our choice in camping spot. True, the forest did give us more privacy but it also made it easier for monsters to surround us without us noticing.

The monsters stepped into the clearing. I felt my face pale. We were hopelessly outnumbered. There were around a dozen hellhounds looking at the two of us.

I sensed Percy moving so that his back was against mine. "Please tell me you have a knife or something and not just your bow? We don't have the distance we need for arrows to be effective."

I shook my head. "No, this is the only weapon I have."

Percy cursed in Ancient Greek. If it hadn't been a life threatening situation then I would have made a joke about it.

"Get to the trees. Climb as quickly as you can. You need to get out of their reach. I will cover you. You can use the height to pick them off."

Percy shoved me towards the nearest tree. At the movement, the hellhounds attacked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the second half of the double update. :-)**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 3rd_

**Percy POV**

Everything seemed too happened at once. The instant we started to move towards the trees the monsters launched into action. I watched as Apollo shot one through the eye with deadly accuracy. Before he could turn around, a second one launched itself at his throat. I swung my sword so quickly that even I couldn't see it. My blade pierced its heart before it became nothing more than a pile of dust. A hound jumped at my unprotected back but, with agility that surprised even me, I spun around and brought my weapon down on its neck. The monster exploded. _Three down, another nine or so to go..._

We managed to reach the tree. I spun around to face the threat head on. The beasts were beginning to coordinate their attacks. I had two try and attack me from the front while one attempted to sneak behind me. The first one launched itself only to have the hilt of my sword come down on its head. While it was stunned, I kicked it into the path of the other one. The hellhound behind me was about to pounce at Apollo. I didn't have time to think. I threw Riptide. The sword plunged into its side before it exploded into a shower of golden dust.

I was weaponless. I knew Riptide would appear back in my pocket soon but I had eight angry monsters to deal with immediately.

Some part of my brain noticed that Apollo had managed to climb up out of their reach. I just had time to feel a little touch of relief before one of the hounds launched at me. The only thing I had time to do was think, _Well, at least I can't die..._

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo**

I fired, the beast that had been about to hurt Percy exploded into dust. Percy shot me a look of surprise. I nodded to him as I drew another arrow.

It was amazing just how many things I could notice at once. While I was aiming at another hellhound, I noticed Percy diving to the side. I also watched as the beast that had been on the ground regained its feet and growled at the son of Poseidon.

I wondered if this was how demigods always felt in battle. It was a rather useful skill. It still wasn't comparable to being a god but it was better than most of the things I had discovered about being mortal.

Another two monsters were sent to Tartarus courtesy of my bow. Percy must have regained his weapon as I watched him slash another dog to dust. Four of the beast managed to surround him, snapping at him as he tried to keep all of them in his line of vision. He was far too new at being a god to know how to look at multiple places at one time without using his eyes.

I drew another arrow as I lined up my shot. I was feeling pretty good about myself. I may have been mortal but I was still amazingly accurate. Just as I was releasing the arrow, the last hound jumped up and snapped at my feet.

I jumped in shock and my arrow missed its mark. I heard a yelp of pain. I managed to regain my balance and keep myself from falling out of the tree. The hound hadn't managed to reach me, but it had still alarmed me. I drew another arrow and killed the monster that was circling my tree.

I was more than a little embarrassed about jumping in fright. If Artemis ever found out I missed a target, she would never let me live it down.

I looked back at Percy and winced in shame. The yelp I heard must have come from him. My arrow was buried to the fletching in his thigh. The golden ichor dripping down his leg didn't seem to be slowing him down though. I watched in amazement as he killed two of the beasts with a single swipe of his blade. While his focus was elsewhere, another of the hounds launched at his side.

He ducked and the hound went flying harmlessly over his head. While it was above him, he stabbed his sword upwards into its belly. The beast disintegrated into dust. Percy killed the last one so quickly that I couldn't even see him move. One moment he was standing in one spot facing off against the beast, the next he was five feet away and there was a new pile of monster dust at his feet.

My attention was so focused on the fight before me that I didn't even see what attacked me.

I heard a movement behind me and on pure instinct I jumped. I felt claws slice through my skin like butter. I screamed in pain. Through the pain the only thing I could think was that if I hadn't jumped I would have been dead.

As the ground rushed towards me I braced myself for impact. I hit the ground hard. Agony ripped through my left leg. I felt myself rolling end over end. My head hit something hard and I felt myself losing consciousness. My last thought was, _Huh. I guess there were thirteen monsters..._

ΩΩΩ

**Percy POV**

I heard Apollo scream. I spun around in time to see him hit the earth. He rolled across the ground and smacked his head off a rock. I wanted to check on him but I knew that he must have been attacked.

I raised Riptide and looked around. I saw movement in the tree Apollo had used as a shelter. The monster launched itself out of the tree towards me. I dove to the side. It passed so close to me that I felt the wind ripple my hair.

I regained my feet and looked up. I felt my eyes widen. "Mrs. Dodds?"

The fury hissed at me, "How long will it take before you cease to refer to me as Mrs. Dodds? I'm certain that by now you know what I am."

I shrugged and raised my blade, "True. But you will always be my pre-algebra teacher to me."

Mrs. Dodds growled and attacked. I dodged her claws and swung my blade upwards. The attack would have ended the fight if I hadn't put my weight on my right leg. I dropped to the ground with a groan. My free hand went to hold the wound. Apparently, being a god did not mean that I couldn't feel pain. I glared at the arrow that pierced clear through my leg. It was one of the worst injuries I had felt in years. I was definitely going to have to yell at Apollo.

I regained my feet just in time for her to attack again. I tried to dodge but she expected it this time. I felt her claws slice across my chest. I hissed in pain and swung my sword wildly.

I wished I could have said it was my plan all along but I just got lucky. My blade managed to slice her wing open. She let out an inhuman shriek of pain as she fell out of the air. While she was still incapacitated I stabbed my blade through her chest. She exploded into a pile of dust.

I looked around to make sure that there were no more monsters hiding in the trees before I limped over to Apollo. He was lying on his back on the ground. There were claw marks across his stomach and a gash on his head. I winced in sympathy. He was going to be in a lot of pain when he woke up.

I recapped Riptide and put it back in my pocket. I went over and grabbed our packs. I threw the matches back into Apollo's bag. I limped back to the sun god and dug out my canteen of nectar. I filled the lid halfway and brought it to his lips.

It took a while but I managed to get him to drink all of it. I removed his jacket and shirt. The shirt was completely ruined but the jacket was still useable. I put his jacket to the side. I took out the first aid kit and began to clean his wounds. I wasn't the best at it but I did succeed in cleaning and bandaging his stomach. I could already see the nectar beginning to heal the claw marks.

I wasn't certain as to how I was going to bandage the cut on his forehead. I settled for cleaning it and covering it with a line of Band-Aids. It may not have been the greatest solution but it was the best I could do. I put his jacket back on him to keep his bandages from getting dirty.

I looked down at myself and winced. I knew that I had to pull the arrow out of my leg but it was not something I was looking forward to. I decided that it would probably hurt the least if I pulled the arrow clean through. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I gave a yank and nearly passed out. _Yep, I was right, incredibly painful. Stupid god of archery..._

It took me a while but I finally managed to get the arrow out. I dropped the offending object and collapsed backwards into the grass. I lay there for a few minutes before I gained the ability to move.

I poured myself a full lid of nectar. I normally would have been a little more nervous about consuming so much godly food, but seeing ichor pouring from my wounds made me a little more comfortable in the knowledge that I was a god.

As Artemis hadn't packed me a first aid kit, I was guessing that gods healed faster than mortals did. I grabbed a square of ambrosia out of my bag and whistled loudly. I felt bad for calling Blackjack back so soon but there was no way that we were going to sleep in the meadow. I ate my food and made sure that everything else was repacked. I could actually feel the ambrosia and nectar sealing my wounds.

By the time the two pegasai landed, I had already healed enough to allow me to change into clean clothes.

_"Whoo boss, what happened?"_

I sighed as I picked up Apollo and dragged him to Blackjack, "Monster attack."

The pegasus whinnied. _"Are you guys okay?"_

I put the unconscious god onto his back. "Nothing that ambrosia won't heal. But it might be better if we found somewhere else to camp for tonight."

I shuffled the packs so that they were both on my back. I felt a little bad for asking Blackjack to carry so much weight but I knew that he wouldn't mind.

I climbed onto the pegasus and shifted Apollo so that I was holding him. The last thing I wanted was for him to fall off and die.

I took a deep breath and patted Blackjacks neck. "Come on; let's see where else we can find to camp, maybe something with a roof."

_"I'm on it boss. I saw a place a few miles west of here that would be perfect."_

I smiled, "Thank you Blackjack. You're the best."

The pegasai launched into the sky. Once we were airborne I looked around. It was probably for the best that we were moving. There was a line of clouds a few miles away that were coming towards us. The wind carried the crisp scent of snow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dang, was this chapter ever hard to write. I re-wrote it like 5 times.**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 4th  
><span>_

**Apollo POV**

I felt stabbing pains all over my body. I tried to roll over in order to find a more comfortable way to sleep. A piercing pain shot through my body at the movement. I yelped in agony as I shot up. I dropped a hand to my side and groaned. I could feel bandages. I looked down. My entire torso was wrapped in gauze.

I really hated being a mortal. Two days in a row I woke up in pain. At least yesterday all I needed to do was stretch in order to feel better. Judging by the agony all over my body, it wasn't going to be that easy today.

I winced as I tried to stand up. The throbbing pain in my leg told me that I had injured it when I hit the ground. I wasn't overly surprised by that though. At least I hadn't broken it. I went to run my fingers through my hair and felt a sharp stab of pain. I instantly dropped my hand.

I looked over the rest of my body but other than those three injuries, it all looked like minor cuts and bruises. _Not that those three weren't enough..._

I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck. All things considered, I knew I was lucky. If it hadn't been for Percy, I would not have survived that encounter. _Speaking of the son of Poseidon..._

I couldn't see the son of the sea god anywhere. I looked around. I seemed to be in some kind of abandoned house. I was lying on the floor right next to the old wood burning stove. All I could see through the windows was a blanket of white. I could hear the wind whipping through the crack in the walls and instinctively moved closer to the source of heat. I had never been a fan of the cold. I was the god of the sun after all.

I could see our packs and Percy's empty sleeping bag beside me. I tried to listen to see if he was somewhere else in the house but I couldn't hear anything over the wind. I wondered what had happened after I passed out.

Obviously Percy had killed whatever it was as I was still alive, but I wondered if he was injured. I didn't want him to be hurt because he had to save me. I was very embarrassed about needing his help in the first place. I wished that I had my immortal abilities so that I would have been able to help him. I didn't like that he had to put himself in harm's way for me. He had been rather amazing though. I had seen people who were born gods be overwhelmed by fewer monsters. Percy wasn't even in full control of his abilities and he was still able to take out ten monsters single-handedly. Even so, I didn't like that he had to fight off almost the entire pack while I hid in a tree. I knew that he had been injured thanks to my, newly discovered, amazing ability to screw up. I wondered as to whether he had been hurt because of my arrow.

I shook my head to rid myself of the thought. _That`s stupid. He is an immortal now, not a demigod. He clearly showed me that he didn't need help. He fought off that pack while injured. I'm sure he could take care of whatever attacked me. So why am I still so worried about him...? _

_ΩΩΩ_

**Percy POV**

I opened the door and the wind blew it out of my hand, making it slam open. I practically fell through the door in my haste to get out of the storm. The storm clouds from the night before had brought blistering winds and a huge dump of snow. Almost half a foot had fallen overnight. I dropped the pile of wood I was carrying and turned back to fight with the door.

If we hadn't been running out of firewood, nothing would have convinced me to go back outside. I had been to Alaska but that was in summer. If this is what a major snow storm felt like, I pitied Canada. The wind that blew through the opening made me shiver, even in my coat. I'd been especially thankful to Artemis when I discovered that she had packed my jacket. I finally managed to close the door again.

I brushed my hands though my hair to get the snow out. I stomped my shoes to get rid of some of the excess snow. I looked up and saw Apollo watching me. I smiled at the god, "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

I saw him shrug as I picked up the wood and brought it over to the stove to dry. I owed Blackjack big time for finding us this place. I could only imagine staying outdoors in this weather.

"My chest is itchy, my leg throbbing, and I have a record breaking headache. I could be worse all things considered."

I let out a bark of laughter and shook my head. "Ya, could have been worse is about all we can say."

I turned to him with a smile only to see him frowning and looking down. I felt my eyebrows scrunch together in bewilderment.

"What's wrong?"

He glanced at me and gave me the fakest look of confusion I'd ever seen. "What do you mean?"

I sighed and tried to keep myself from laughing. He may have been the god of the arts but he was a terrible actor. "I may not be the smartest person alive but I can still see that something is upsetting you."

He grimaced and looked away. "I will be fine."

It was my turn to frown. I couldn't understand what was wrong with him. As far as I could tell, he had only just woken up. "You don't have to do that you know."

He raised any eyebrow at me. "What are you talking about?"

I looked down and shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze. I wasn't even entirely certain as to what I was talking about. All I knew was that he wasn't okay. I knew that I wanted to help him in the same way that he would be helping me but I couldn't do that unless he let me. I knew that something was wrong with him. I just needed to figure out a way to get him to open up to me.

I glanced at him and found myself blurting out exactly what I was thinking. "You don't need to lie to me."

"I am the god of truth. I can't lie." I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Apollo blushed and looked away. "Misdirect perhaps, but not outright lie."

I rolled my eyes, "Same thing. If you don't want to talk about it then say that you don't want to talk about it. I'm not an idiot. I can tell you're not alright. I won't force my company on you but I think it would help. I just want you to know that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

He looked at me in shock. I tried to put as much of what I was feeling into my expression as I could. I wanted him to know that I really did want to help him. He cleared his throat and nodded in acknowledgement before he turned to look out the window.

I had a feeling that it wasn't often that someone offered him a sympathetic ear. After all, he was a god. Most people probably only wanted to use his company for their own gain. That thought made me sad...

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo POV**

I scrubbed a hand over my face. We had been sitting around chatting about nothing of consequence for the last few hours. The snow storm didn't show any signs of ending. I had no desire to venture into the cold so I was quite alright with the idea of staying still until the snow let up.

Percy's declaration still echoed through my head. His eyes showed nothing but sincerity. I hadn't really had anyone offer to just chat before. I wasn't even certain if I wanted the kind of friendship he was offering. I had always been happy in the past...

I had countless lovers, and many friends, but they were fair-weather kind. I had always been okay with that as I knew I couldn't truly form lasting relationships with mortals. I had a good relationship with many gods as well but any of them would turn on me if we disagreed. It had happened before and it would happen again. I was not blameless of that either. I had turned on friends just as often as they had on me. Hermes and I always got along the best, but neither of us had ever just offered to chat with the other about our feelings or insecurities.

We were gods; such things were for lesser beings. It made me question as to whether or not godhood would be a good thing for Percy. He was a surprisingly innocent soul. I couldn't help but worry that godhood would strip him of his morals.

I bit my lip and looked at the son of the sea god. He was adding more wood to the fire. I sighed and looked back down. I had always thought that godhood was the greatest gift. I couldn't understand as to why he had refused it in the past. It had confused me as to why anyone would have declined immortality in order to ensure that all demigods had a place. I felt as though I knew him slightly better now. I had known that loyalty was his fatal flaw and so I assumed that was the reason he asked for that. After all, a few of his friends were unclaimed. Now that I had spent some time with the son of Poseidon I began to see that the reason had nothing to do with his fatal flaw.

He was simply selfless. I hardly knew him and yet he didn't hesitate in order to protect me while I got to the safety of the tree. He might have been immortal but I believed he would have done the exact same thing even if he hadn't been granted godhood. I had a feeling that was why I had been so worried for him. If he hadn't been immortal, he would have died. Yet he still decided to protect me, risking himself in the process.

_Which reminds me..._

I cleared my throat. "Thank you by the way."

Percy looked at me in confusion, "For what?"

"For last night, you saved me. I would not have been able to defeat those beasts alone. I owe you my life."

The son of Poseidon smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It was no big deal."

I caught his gaze, "No. It was a big deal. I would have been dead if it was not for you. I owe you a favor."

Percy shrugged. He looked uncomfortable at my thanks. "Like I said, don't worry. I did what I would have done for anyone."

I sighed, "It's not as simple as that Percy. I am a god. I owe you a debt. I cannot allow said debt to go unpaid. I will grant you one favor. Ask it and, if it is within my power, it is yours."

Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Can I think about it and get back to you?"

I nodded, "Of course. A favor from a god should not be spent lightly. Take your time and inform me when you know what you want."


	10. Chapter 10

**Merry Christmas! Here is my gift to all of you, an extra long chapter. :-)**

**To those of you in the eastern hemisphere, Merry Christmas! To those of you in the western hemisphere, well my family always opened one gift on Christmas Eve. I hope you all enjoy...  
><strong>

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 4th_

**Percy POV**

I was more than a little uncomfortable with the whole 'favor' thing. I had helped him because he would have died. I didn't do it in order to get something out of it. Looking at him though made it rather clear that he wasn't going to allow me to refuse, no matter what I said.

It was almost dinner time and I had yet to see Apollo eat. You would think that as the god of medicine, he would have known that he had to eat regularly. I believed that it was mostly routine to him to only eat once every day or so. After a few millennia, I had a feeling that it would be hard to break a habit. I had decided to take it upon myself to make sure that he was eating. At least until he developed the practice himself.

I reached into his bag and passed him a baggy of trail mix. He grimaced at the food but took it none the less. I didn't really blame him. His entire pack was filled with nothing but jerky, trail mix, and dried fruit. I would have been tired of it to.

He ate in silence as I tried to think of the fastest way to get to New Rome. I had expected to be there tomorrow afternoon but because of the storm and our injuries, we weren't going to get there for at least another two days.

I frowned as I looked out the window at the swirling mass. I was both excited and nervous about reaching Camp Jupiter. I wanted to see Annabeth again. Zeus had dismissed the other members of the seven before I even had a chance to speak to her. I had no idea how she felt about my decision. I was fairly certain that she wouldn't begrudge me the opportunity to see what godhood was like. After all, it was the most logical course of action.

I snickered at the thought. I knew that if I told her that, she would be asking me when I decided to start doing the smart thing.

I had no idea as to whether or not I would accept godhood in the end. I had never imagined myself seriously considering godhood but now I found myself confused over whether or not to take it.

I loved Annabeth and my mom. I couldn't imagine losing them to old age while I lived forever, always 18. Yet at the same time I knew that I had to at least consider the gods offer. The idea of spending the rest of eternity as my father's lieutenant was very appealing.

All in all, I was very glad that I had a year to decide.

ΩΩΩ

Apollo finished his food and I decided to take a look at his bandages.

The cut on his forehead was nearly healed and his leg wasn't broken so I knew that would be fine. The deep claw marks on his stomach however were healing much more slowly. They weren't infected but I definitely needed to change the dressings.

As I began to wrap the fresh gauze around him, I finally asked the question that had been bothering me, "Hey Apollo?"

He looked at me and raised one eyebrow, "Yes?"

"If you're the god of healing that means that you should be able to heal injuries to right? Even though you're technically a demigod now?"

The god of medicine nodded, "Yes. I can heal minor wounds just like my children can. Why do you ask?"

"Well, why haven't you healed yourself? I mean, I've seen Will heal injuries worse than this one before. Maybe he didn't do it in one sitting but within a few days."

Apollo's eyes lit with understanding and he shook his head, "Ah I see. That is because it is me who is injured. Neither I nor my descendants can heal themselves. I wish I could tell you why but I've never been able to figure it out. It's just something about self-healing that makes it impossible."

"Oh," I nodded and looked down. It kind of made sense, otherwise a child of Apollo would be able to heal themselves mid-battle. I somehow felt like I should have known that.

We lapsed into silence as I finished re-wrapping his wounds. I walked over to his pack and passed him a small square of ambrosia. His eyes lit up when he saw the godly food. He took the ambrosia and ate it in two quick bites. After it was gone he looked at his hands like he expected there to be more. I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his reaction. He looked longingly at the baggy of squares but I shook my head and put it back in his pack.

"Unless you want to burn up, that's enough godly food for you. I already had to give you some nectar after the attack last night."

He sighed and pouted, "Very well." I smiled at the pouting god. It was something I never thought that I would see. "By the way, you must tell me. What was it that attacked me?"

"Oh, it was Mrs. Dodds."

He looked at me in confusion, "It was who sorry?"

I felt the heat rush to my face. I always forgot that she had another name, "Sorry. It was a fury." He still gave me the same questioning glance and I knew I'd have to explain. "She tried to kill me before I knew I was a demigod. She was my pre-algebra teacher at the time. I still tend to call her by the name she was using."

He smiled in understanding and chuckled, "Well I can understand that. On a more amusing note though, how many people can say they learned pre-algebra from a mythical beast?"

I gave him an embarrassed smile. "I suppose. Then again, how many people can say they camped out in an abandoned farm house with a Greek god?"

The god of music laughed, "Fair enough. This is probably the first times that has happened. Though, I suppose quite a few people may have run amok of the furies. They are Hades right hand servants after all."

My smile fell. I had been wondering about the attack last night. It didn't follow the pattern that I was used to. There had been far too many monsters at once. I had also been curious about the fury. I had only ever seen her when Hades had sent her somewhere. I had originally thought that he was doing it because he was mad at me as there was a chance I was going to become immortal. Now however, I was curious as to whether or not that was really the case.

I looked at Apollo and frowned.

"That's what I thought. They are his servants, more so than other monsters, aren't they? But if they obey Hades why did one of them attack you? Also, why would he send so many hellhounds? That was a far larger group that I've seen in the past."

I saw his eyes widen and I could tell that he was trying to keep a straight face. I may not have been the most observant person in the world but even I could tell that he knew something. I bit my lip; _I hope he's willing to trust me..._

Apollo cleared his throat and looked down. "Well, I am formerly a god. My scent will be a lot more powerful than a normal demigod's scent would be."

I felt my shoulders slump. If that was the reason, then he wouldn't be looking so guilty. He knew more than he was saying. "I thought that I told you that you could trust me."

The god looked at me with guilt on every square inch of his face. "I... I want to trust you."

_At least he didn't deny it..._

"Then why don't you?"

Apollo sighed, "I don't know."

I was rather fed up with his secrecy. I wanted to put a stop to the lies, _or more accurately his half-truths..._

I bit my lip as I thought about what I was going to do. There was a chance that it would blow up in my face and make it impossible for him to trust me. I looked at the god. He looked weighed down. Whether or not he knew it, it was obvious that he needed help.

I nodded and straightened my shoulders. It would be worth the risk. If he needed help then by Zeus, I was going to do everything in my power to help him.

I caught his gaze. "You said that I can have any favor I want, right?" He nodded. "Then I want you to let me be your friend."

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo POV**

I looked at the temporary god in shock, "What?"

The son of Poseidon rubbed the back of his neck. "We're going to be spending a lot of time with each other over the next year at least, regardless of what I choose in the end. I want to be there for you when you need me. I know that you're upset being away from your family and that you're struggling with your mortality. I want to help you, just like you will be there to assist me. Friends help each other, so let me help you. In order for me to do that though, you need to start being honest with me."

I was stunned. He could have any favor, anything in the world, and he asks for my friendship? Most mortals would ask for money or fame. _Then again, most mortals would have taken immortality the first time... _

I felt my respect for the son of Poseidon increase.

I didn't really know how to respond.

What he asked for was going to benefit me, not him. How could I grant a favor knowing that I would be the only one gaining anything? I looked into his eyes and saw that he really did desire to help me. I was touched. I could not in good conscious allow him to use his favor so selflessly but if he wanted my friendship, then I would try to give it to him.

I smiled tentatively at the temporary god, "Very well. If you truly wish for my friendship, then we shall try to be friends."

I would one day figure out a way to tell him that I still owed him one...

ΩΩΩ

I took a deep breath. If we were going to be friends then I had to try to be honest. _This is going to be difficult...  
><em>

"Hades is a little pissed at me."

Percy smiled. I could tell he was pleased that I had decided to trust him.

I couldn't believe how expressive his eyes were. He had some of the most open eyes I had ever seen. One could read his emotions like a book. I was fairly certain that he would never be able to hide anything.

He nodded encouragingly at me. "Why is Hades angry?"

I coughed and looked down, _here's the moment of truth..._

"Well about fifty years ago there was this mortal..."

Percy snorted. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight, he tried to kill us because of some woman?"

I chuckled and smirked, "A man actually."

I wished I had a camera. His reaction was hilarious. His jaw dropped for a minute before he shook his head. "Wait, so you and Hades... The two of you are...?"

"Is that a problem?"

Percy's eyes widened and he blushed, "No, not at all. People can't help who they love. I just thought... I mean you have kids..."

I laughed, "I've said it before and I will no doubt say it again. For one who has seen so much, you are quite innocent. We are Greek. Most of us are bisexual. The only exceptions are Artemis and Hestia and they're both maiden goddesses."

Percy nodded and scratched his head, "Oh, okay. So tell me about this guy."

I gave him a mischievous look, "Alright. He was about 5'11". He had dark brown hair and grass green eyes, killer body. And oh, the things he could do with his mouth..."

"NO! That's not... I mean... What happened, not..." Percy's face looked ready to catch fire.

I had to laugh. I winked at the son of Poseidon. "Oh I knew what you meant. I just wanted to see how you'd react."

Percy shook his head and smiled. "So what was his story? Why is the god of the underworld out to kill you over it?"

"Well as I was saying, there was this mortal. He was incredibly attractive. He was living in L.A. at the time, he was a T.V. star. Hades was still under the oath to not have any more kids, but that didn't mean he couldn't take lovers. Anyway Hades saw him one day. He decided that he wanted him and so he attempted to woo him. I suppose that it may have been going well enough. They had gone on a couple dates, nothing serious though. Then the mortal was cast in a singing roll in one of his shows. He was very talented. When I heard him sing, I wanted to make him mine. So I went and introduced myself. A few weeks later, Hades came across the two of us on a date. He was wondering as to why the mortal had been so busy as of late. When Hades saw him with me he went crazy. He demanded to know what I was doing with his mortal. I told him that he was mine and that obviously he liked me better, I mean just look at me. I'm way hotter than Hades. So we got in this big argument and I said that we should let the human decided which of us he wanted. He said he wanted me and Hades has kinda had it out for me ever since."

Percy looked surprised, "So you still get in fights over humans, even though there are billions now?"

I shrugged, "Some humans are simply to appealing. If they attract more that one god, we will fight. It's what we do."

Percy smiled in amusement. He looked at me and tilted his head. I wondered if he realized just how much like a puppy he looked when he did that. "Did you know?"

I shook off the train of thought, "Did I know what?"

"That Hades was already dating that guy?"

I nodded, "Yes. But I knew he would like me better."

Percy looked shocked at my response. "Oh. So what happened to him?"

"Hades cursed him because of it. He drove him insane using his helm of darkness. He died a few years later."

Percy frowned at me, "And you don't feel bad about that? That his life was ruined because the two of you were fighting?"

I frowned at the accusation in his voice, "Of course I feel bad about it. I care about all of my lovers."

Percy bit his lip and tentatively put a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't. I'm just, shocked is all."

I looked at him curiously, "Why? I'm sure you know a lot of our myths. Certainly you know that whenever two immortals fight over a human it never ends well for the mortal."

The son of Poseidon sighed, "I do know that. Which is why I was shocked that you went after him even though you knew Hades was already dating him. I just don't understand why you would put his life in danger because you fell for him."

I looked away in shame. It was hard to face someone who was so selfless and admit that you weren't. "At the time all that mattered to me was winning the mortal, not what would happen after I had won him. I do regret it but nothing I can do will change the past. He was one of the lovers that I've always regretted the most."

Percy squeezed my shoulder and pulled his hand back. "Thank you for telling me. Now that I know Hades is after us I can make sure to pick better campsites."

I nodded. Percy seemed to realize that I wanted to change topics. He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. "I'm rather excited to reach New Rome. I can't wait to see Annabeth." I shook my head in amusement. _Well that was a not so subtle topic change... _"I'm sure you're rather excited too."

I gave him a searching look, "Why do you say that?"

"Well, because you get to hang out with your kids."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why would I be excited about that? That's going to be really difficult actually. After all, it's not like they're going to know who I am."

Percy gave me a baffled look, "What do you mean? Apollo is a fairly unique name. Besides, doesn't everyone already know you're coming?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Of course not. No one other than you, Reyna, and the gods know that I've been stripped of immortality. And Reyna was only told so that she doesn't question who I am. I won't be going by Apollo while I'm in New Rome."

The son of Poseidon looked completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought I told you."

"You never told me anything."

I frowned, "I thought that I had, sorry about that. For the duration of my punishment I am going by the name Fred." Percy smiled at the familiar name and I winked. "What can I say, it's my alias. The reason I'm forced to use a different name is because knowing I was a god would encourage too many people to try to win favors. The council wishes for me to learn a little humanity, so they've stripped me of everything including my name."

The hero of Olympus looked surprised. "Oh. So I guess I have to quit calling you Apollo then, hey?"

I smiled at the child of the sea. "I was wondering as to why you always referred to me by my real name. I guess it makes sense now."

The temporary god laughed, "Well at least I know now. Come on, it's getting late. We should probably get some sleep Apo... I mean, Fred." Percy shook his head, "It's going to be really weird calling you that."

I shrugged, "You may call my Apollo in private, but in public you must call me Fred."

The son of Poseidon nodded and climbed into his sleeping bag, "Alright then. Good night Apollo."

I shook my head in amusement and laid down, "Good night Percy."


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy New Years everyone! :-) Sorry for the delay. I lost access to my main computer for a while over the holidays. Dang this chapter was hard to write. I spent 4 days trying to focus on finishing it but my brain kept getting bored and it led me to reading yu-gi-oh fanfictions. Lol.**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 5th_

**Apollo POV**

When I woke up one of the first things I noticed was that it was no longer windy. I sat up and looked out the window. I could see sunlight beginning to creep across the blue sky. I touched my chest. It still hurt a little but it felt worlds better than it had yesterday morning. Sunny skies and not much pain, it was looking like a good day.

I looked over at Percy and shook my head in amusement. It seemed that one of his powers was the ability to fall asleep anywhere. His head was half dangling over the edge of his pack, a trail of drool on his chin.

I stretched a little and climbed out of my sleeping bag. My leg still hurt a little but it wouldn't stop me from walking. I went over to my pack and grabbed my water bottle. Either Percy had filled it or it was charmed to never empty. I was going to have to find out.

I took a long drink and decided to explore the house while I was waiting for him to wake up. The main level consisted of a kitchen, living room, a small bedroom, an entryway and a bathroom. The upstairs had two small bedrooms and something that looked like they had been attempting to make a second living room and stopped the construction halfway through the project. I glanced down to what I thought was the basement but it was just a cold cellar.

Percy was still sleeping when I had finished my exploration so I decided to go freshen up in the washroom. It had been a long time since I had gone over 48 hours without washing my hair. I was a little disgusted with myself. I went through the kitchen cupboards. I managed to find a basin, an old rag, and a bar of soap.

I went to the bathroom but I could barely see the mirror through all the dust and grime. I poured some water from my bottle on the rag and used it to rinse out the basin and wash off the mirror. I watched as the bottle slowly refilled. _Well I guess that answers that question..._

I emptied the water bottle eight times before the basin was full. While I was waiting for the bottle to refill I glanced at my reflection. I felt my eyes widen and I winced. I had dirt, blood, and grass stuck in my hair. My face was dusty and had a few streaks of blood from the harpy attack. I had never seen myself look as disheveled as I did then.

I took off my shirt and began cleaning myself as best as I could. I washed my hair with the bar of soap. It took a few basins of water but eventually I got all the dirt out. I wrung out my hair with my hands and used my shirt to dry the rest of it as best as I could.

I couldn't wait until I got to New Rome. It may not be Olympus but at least I would be able to have a real shower.

I walked out of the bathroom and saw that Percy was awake. He smiled at me and passed me a baggy of dried apples. I frowned but took the food without protest. I appreciated what my sister did for me but I was really beginning to hate dried fruit.

I jerked my thumb towards the bathroom and held out my water bottle. "There's a basin in the washroom for you if you want to clean up. This bottle is self filling."

Percy nodded and took the bottle. "Thanks." He grabbed some clean clothes from his bag and went to wash up.

While he was out of the room I took advantage of the time to eat. After I had consumed as much dried fruit as I could stand I decided to get changed. I dug out my clothes and slipped into a clean pair of jeans. I was just doing them up when Percy came out of the bathroom.

I grabbed my shirt as I turned towards him. Washing up had clearly done him a lot of good. Not just in the looks department, thought honestly he looked as bad as I had, but clearly for his mood as well. He was literally glowing, not quite in his godly form but pretty dam close. If I had been a regular mortal I might have been a little nervous but Athena had said I would be fine. As much as the goddess of wisdom annoyed me sometimes, she was usually right.

I smirked at the son of Poseidon. "Well someone is happy this morning."

Percy shrugged and ran a hand through his damp hair, "Why wouldn't I be? The weather is good. Not a cloud in the sky. It's a little chilly still but most of the snow has already milted. Blackjack and Porkpie arrived while you were washing your hair. They're ready to go when we are."

I sighed and felt some of my good humor evaporate. I was not looking forward to another day on horseback, especially while I was still injured.

"Very well, I suppose that we should get going then."

ΩΩΩ

_November 6th_

**Percy POV**

The day off had clearly helped the pegasai as much as it had helped us. We covered a lot more ground than I had thought we would. We managed to make it to New Rome by nightfall the day after we left the farm house.

We had spent last night in the rafters of a barn. At least it was a dairy farm instead of a horse barn; otherwise I would have gotten no sleep. I could tell Apollo was not accustomed to sleeping with a bunch of cows but he didn't complain. Considering in less than two weeks he went from being a god to sleeping with cattle, I thought he was handling it fairly well.

I could see the lights of New Rome glowing a few miles in the distance. I was excited to reach Camp Jupiter. It would be nice to be somewhere with a real bed and a shower. I was fairly certain that Apollo was most looking forward to food that wasn't dried. He had literally shivered in disgust when I handed him his breakfast of trail mix.

It was only when we started circling over the city that I realized I didn't know where exactly we were staying. I looked to Apollo and he seemed to understand my confusion. He spurred Porkpie lower and Blackjack followed close behind. As soon as the pegasai landed Apollo gratefully hoped down. He seemed to be doing a little better about it but he just didn't seem cut out for riding a Pegasus.

I ran a hand down Blackjack's mane. "Thanks for the lift guys. We really owe you one."

The black pegasus shook his head, _"No worries boss."_

I smiled and stepped back. "You guys should go rest, you deserve it. I'll see you later."

_"See you later boss, and tell the god that if he wants riding lessons we can help him."_

I watched them take off and tried not to laugh. It was probably for the best that Apollo couldn't speak horse. I doubted that he would be happy with the parting comment.

I shifted my pack on my shoulders and turned to face the god. The park we had landed in was fairly busy considering it was beginning to get late. I cleared my throat and looked around, "So where to Fred?"

Apollo smirked at the name and turned around, "Follow me."

ΩΩΩ

We arrived outside of a house that was a little smaller than the big house back at camp half blood. It was set on a block of houses that were fairly similar in size. Each house however was different than its neighbor. The house to our left had big bay windows while the house to our left was shaped like a 'u' with a big spruce tree in the center.

The gods had found us a beautiful house. The entire building seemed to be made of white marble. The columns at the front of the house reminded me of the fact that we were in New Rome, not Long Island. Our house had a big front pouch and flower boxes along the railings. It had three upstairs windows. One of them had lights on. I had a gut feeling that Annabeth was in that room. I smiled and turned to Apollo.

The sun god chuckled and shoved me towards the door, "Go see her. I have to go unpack my place anyway."

I felt my eyes widen, "Wait. How did you know..."

The god of music started laughing, "It was rather obvious when you started looking at the house with that goofy love struck look." I felt a faint blush appear on my cheeks and his comment. He just winked, "I will see you tomorrow Percy."

The god gave a small wave and started walking away. I turned my attention back to the house. I took a deep breath as I started walking towards the front door. I debated over whether or not to knock but I figured as it was technically my house too, I could just go straight in.

I opened the front door and was met with the sight of a big dining room that opened onto the kitchen. I walked further into the house and saw a large living room. There were a few bookshelves against the far wall and a door that I was fairly certain would lead to a washroom.

I passed the living room and headed up the stairs to the second level. There were five doors, all of them closed, but my eyes were only attracted to the one that had light spilling from underneath it. I walked up to the door and put my hand on the handle. I suddenly felt over come with nerves. I desperately wanted to see Annabeth but I was worried as to how she would react.

I had seen myself in the mirror back at that old farmhouse. I had been incredibly pleased by the fact that I still looked exactly as I had before the change. I couldn't see any difference that spoke of my godhood but what if she could? I had never been so anxious about anything. I knew that I needed to get it over with but I was terrified that she would reject me because of my choice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to prepare myself for the worst.

_I guess this is it..._

I opened my eyes and turned the handle. The door swung wide to reveal Annabeth and Jason with their heads together, leaning over a table. A pile of blueprints covered the surface between them so that I couldn't even see the top. One wall of the room was covered in other drawings of buildings while the other three were filled with overstuffed bookshelves. A desk was shoved against the wall with the sketches. The desktop was filled with pencils, rulers, and dozens of other odds and ends.

The room's occupant's heads snapped up to face me. I had just enough time to notice their shocked expressions before Annabeth threw her arms around me. I blinked in shock and returned her embrace.

"About dam time you got here sea-weed brain."

My eyes widened in surprise and I clutched her even closer. I rested my chin on her shoulder. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I should have known better than to think she would have been angry at me for wanted to actually think something through. She loved me, something as small as me being a god wouldn't change that.

ΩΩΩ

Annabeth gave me the grand tour. The door I had noticed earlier did in fact lead to a washroom. There was also a laundry room just off the kitchen. The room I had found my girlfriend in was her office. It was supposed to be for her and Jason to share but he gave it to her as the majority of his work simply involved talking to the different gods and making sure that they were happy with the designs.

The room across from the office belonged to Annabeth. Her room was the biggest as she had a private bathroom. The room next to Annabeth's room belonged to Jason. The door between the office and my room was another bathroom. My room was across the hall from the son of Jupiter.

By the time I had filled them in on my trip across the country with 'Fred", it was rather late. We decided that we should all head to bed.

I opened the door to my room and looked at all the boxes of my belongings. The only thing in my room that was set up was my bed. I had a feeling that Annabeth had been the one to dig out my blankets and pillow for me. I dropped my pack on the floor. I was torn between unpacking everything and simply taking a shower before collapsing into my bed.

I frowned and looked at the boxes once more. A box marked 'bathroom stuff' was on top of one of the stacks. I decided to take that as a sign. I went to the box and dug out a towel and my toiletries.

After showering and changing into a clean set of pajamas I knew I had made the right choice. I wasn't exactly tired but I felt like I needed rest. It felt different than the exhaustion that I was accustomed to as a human. It was similar to how I had felt after the attack. I hung my towel on the back of my bedroom door and collapsed into bed. The bed seemed even softer after nearly four days traveling. I smiled and snuggled deeper into my bed.

_Those boxes will still be here tomorrow..._


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the delay. I got sidetracked working on my newest Nico x Percy story. Don't worry; I won't stop working on this one simply because I'm writing Never Two Late. I will be working on both, though this one will probably be limited to two chapters a week until I have finished the other one. :-) I hope you enjoy the new chapter. **

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 7th_

**Percy POV**

I had woken up with the intent of unpacking. I changed my mind though when Annabeth knocked on my door. She wanted to show me where the temples were going. So I got changed and headed downstairs. Annabeth was just putting food on the table. Not just any food though, blue pancakes!

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I came up behind her while she was grabbing the syrup and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Not my best plan...

She jumped and let out a squeal. She spun around already on the defensive, raising her fists into a fighting stance. I stepped back in surprise.

"Whoa there wise girl," I raised my hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to startle you."

She blinked at me before she relaxed her stance. "Sorry Percy. You scared the crap out of me. I didn't hear you coming at all."

I tilted my head in confusion, "Really?" It hadn't sounded that quiet to me.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No I just said it to see if you were listening," she teased.

I winced and stuck out my tongue, "Very funny."

She laughed at the childishness of the action. She passed me the syrup and peanut butter. "Go be a good boy and put this on the table for me."

I winked at her, "Yes mom."

She grabbed the plates and silverware. We had just finished setting the table when Jason came downstairs.

It wasn't until I had sat down with a plate full of the fluffy goodness that is blue pancakes that I came to a disturbing realization. I wasn't hungry. Usually just the sight of blue pancakes was enough to make my stomach grumble. I watched as Annabeth and Jason started eating the delicious food but I still felt no stirrings of hunger. It was unnerving.

I wasn't certain what my expression looked like but it was enough that Annabeth stopped moving, a fork halfway to her mouth. "Percy, are you okay?"

I couldn't understand why I was reacting so powerfully. I would have thought that by now I would have understood that I was no longer a mortal. I had seen myself bleed ichor, why should a lack of appetite for human food matter?

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Ya, I'm fine."

Jason looked at me in concern, "Are you sure? Blue pancakes are your favorite. You usually attack them."

I frowned, "I know."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I... I'm not hungry."

Jason looked confused but I saw a flash of understanding in Annabeth's eyes.

The daughter of Athena gave me an unreadable look. "Hey Percy, I just remembered. I forgot a load of laundry in the washer last night. Would you be able to switch it to the dryer for me?"

I nodded and gladly left the table. It was just too strange to sit there and not eat.

ΩΩΩ

I sat on the front porch and waited for Annabeth and Jason to finish up. I couldn't stay in the house. I ran a hand through my hair and looked up. The sky was a perfect cloudless blue. The sun was warming my skin through my t-shirt.

When I thought about the sun, I began thinking about Apollo. I wondered how he was settling in. He would have been able to help me with the food issue. I remembered Apollo telling me something about mortal food but I couldn't remember what it was. I sighed and let my head fall back. I would need to ask him next time I saw him.

I wished that I could have gone to see him but I didn't know where his apartment was. Plus, how would I explain to Jason and Annabeth that I needed to go talk to 'Fred' about being a god. That would definitely raise some questions. I was already surprised enough that the two of them accepted my 'Chiron asked me to help him get here safely' excuse for the reason we traveled together.

Apollo had never told me a back-story for Fred. I didn't even know if he had one. I hoped he wouldn't mind the few things I had to make up. Also, I hoped that I would get a chance to tell him his 'history' before either Annabeth or Jason got to him. I was just lucky that the two of them didn't ask too many questions.

Eventually the two of them came out of the house. I stood up and dusted off my hands. Annabeth stepped forward and placed a quick kiss on my cheek. She grabbed my hand and gave it a playful tug.

"Come on. Let's get going sea-weed brain."

I smiled at her and fell into step with Jason on my other side. It was still early enough that the streets were mostly empty. I was fairly nervous about what it would be like when everyone started to wake up. It was fairly quiet right now but once everyone started walking around and talking, I didn't know how I would react. I had begun to grow accustom my enhanced vision but the sound was still strange to me. I figured that if Jason could handle his change so easily, I could as well.

I looked over at the son of Jupiter and felt my curiosity growing. I had almost forgotten that he was now an immortal. He seemed to be handling it a hell of a lot better than me.

"Hey Jason, how are you not freaking out?"

The golden boy gave me a confused look, "What am I supposed to be freaking out over?"

I blushed. _Okay, maybe I could have explained that a bit more... _"I mean, how are you not overwhelmed by the noise here? You seem so calm. Are you already used to it?"

Jason looked at Annabeth and then back to me, "The noise? New Rome isn't that bad. Aren't you the one who used to live in New York? Compared to that, New Rome is nothing."

I felt my confusion growing. "Well ya, but that was before I was granted godhood. I'm still overwhelmed by the level of noise. I've more or less gotten used to the whole super vision thing but since me and... Fred spent most of the time in the country I haven't had to deal with crowds yet. Is it as bad as I think it's going to be?" I had been half a second away from calling him Apollo. _I need to work on that..._

Annabeth stopped and turned to me in surprise. "Wait Percy, are you saying that you have heightened senses now?"

"Well, ya." Judging by the shocked looks I was getting I began to doubt myself. "Doesn't Jason?"

Jason shook his head. "I'm not a god Percy. I'm more like a huntress, immortal unless struck down in battle. I have a boost in strength and endurance but I haven't discovered any super hearing or anything."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I had expected Jason to be going through all the same weird experiences I was. I suddenly felt very alone.

Annabeth however looked like she had just won the lottery. "Percy, you have to tell me everything. This is a once in a millennia opportunity. Just think of everything we could learn! Oh, I'm going to have to send an Iris message back to camp. I'm sure that Malcolm and the others will have tons of questions about the differences between demigods and gods. This could..." Annabeth went off on a tangent about possible applications for the knowledge.

I smiled at my girlfriend. Somehow, no matter what we went through, she had a way of making me smile. Something that was overwhelming for me was a learning experience for her. It was one of the things I loved most about her.

ΩΩΩ

To me it was just an empty field but by the way Annabeth was talking about it I could tell that she was seeing it filled with temples and statues to every god. I zoned out on most of what she was saying. It wasn't that I was not interested. It was just that I couldn't understand most of what she was saying.

Instead I watched her as she described buildings that were already complete in her mind. I loved the way that she lit up at the thought of architecture. She loved it and her passion was easy to see. Jason stood off to the side. When I glanced over at him he just shook his head and gestured to her as if to say, 'she always gets like this'. I shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She did tend to get too absorbed in her designs but I didn't really mind.

Eventually Jason interrupted her to reminder her that we were supposed to meet up with Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. We were all going to go out for lunch. I was excited to see my friends but I wasn't looking forward to repeating the awkward experience of breakfast. Regardless of my reluctance, we headed towards the square where we would be meeting up with the roman demigods.

I tried to keep up with what Annabeth and Jason were talking about but my attention kept fading in and out. Now that everyone in New Rome was out and about, I found it very hard to focus on one source of sound. It was similar to trying to hold a conversation in a hall filled with people. Everyone was talking at once and it made it hard to listen to just one person. It wasn't quite as bad as I had expected but it was close enough. I was just glad that New Rome didn't have cars. That probably would have pushed me over the edge.

The others were waiting by the time we reached the square. As soon as they saw me Hazel ran up and gave me a sisterly hug. I laughed as I pulled back. I smiled and waved at Frank. The son of Mars waved back and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.

Reyna nodded at me. She looked serious but I could see the smile shinning in her dark brown eyes. "It's nice to see you again Percy."

I felt my smile widen at her serious nature, "Same to you."

The roman's joined our group and together, we started heading towards the closest restaurant. Frank instantly started chatting with Jason. Annabeth soon joined in on their conversation and Hazel just walked along beside Frank in silence. I somehow found myself in the back of our group, walking next to the black haired daughter of Bellona.

"So are you glad to be back?"

I looked at her and nodded, "I didn't realize how much I missed New Rome until I got back here."

"You don't find the order too stifling to your naturally Greek disorganization?"

I couldn't help but laugh. I didn't think I had ever heard her tell a joke before. "Who knew that you Romans actually had a sense of humor?"

She looked at me and I saw a small smile appear on her face. "Who said I was joking?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Just for all of you, a special double update! **

**Wow, I just discovered that this story was added to a community. It's my first story to have that happen. That is supremely cool to me. :-) This story is really getting popular. Thank you to everyone. Now, let's get on with the story... Enjoy.**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 7th_

**Percy POV**

When we finally reached the restaurant, we had to wait for a table. Frank and Hazel were standing a few feet away, holding hands and talking with Don the faun. Reyna and Jason were soon pulled into a conversation with a few of their fellow Romans. Annabeth had wandered off to go look at the different desserts that they had on display. I was tempted to go with her but I knew that it would only make me uncomfortable. The food in the restaurant smelt heavenly but I knew that when I saw it, once again I would have no appetite.

Reyna's voice pulled me from my mussing. "Who is that?"

I shook my head to clear it and turned back to the Praetor. She was standing with a pale, redheaded girl. The girl was shaking her head. "I don't know but I want to meet him." Reyna simply nodded in agreement.

I tilted my head and followed the direction of their gaze. I blinked in shock before bursting out laughing. The people around me winced at the volume. I gave them a sheepish look and tried to curb my amusement.

Apollo was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by several girls. At my outburst he looked around. When he saw me, he just smirked and threw me a wink.

The redhead gave me an accusing look, "Do you know him?"

I was still trying to control my mirth so all I could do was nod. I had expected the ginger to say something else so I was thrown off when Reyna responded, "You should introduce us."

I shook my head in amusement, "Why?"

The redhead rolled her eyes, "Simple. He is probably the single hottest guy I have ever seen."

I was stunned by Reyna's nod of agreement. I found myself looking back to Apollo. I tilted my head, trying to see what they were talking about. I just saw him as Apollo, the god of the sun. I tried to look beyond his personality, too see what I would see if I didn't know him.

He was just over 6' and looked to be around 21. He was tan and had wavy, sandy blond hair that went just past his chin. His eyes were the exact colour of the sky on a summer's day. Objectively I could see that he had a kind of outdoorsy good looks, like he spent most of his time at a beach. I had never checked out a guy before but I could kind of see what they meant. _Apollo is hot..._

I felt my eyes widen at the thought. I couldn't keep the blush from my cheeks. I had to look away. It was bad enough that I had just checked out a guy but it was even worse that I could see why people found him attractive. I sure as Hades had never found a guy attractive before and it really freaked me out to think of him like that.

"Hey Percy, are you alright?"

I looked up at the call of my name and was met with a pair of worried blue eyes. I felt my blush darken even further. "Um... Ya, I'm okay Fred." I shuffled my feet and looked away. I watched as Reyna straightened in surprise. _I guess she remembered the name of Apollo's alter-ego..._

I could tell that Apollo was still worried. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and racked my brain for a change of topic. My gaze caught on the redhead and I smiled, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Guys, this is Fred. Fred this is Reyna and..." I trailed off as I remembered that I didn't know the redheads name.

The ginger stepped forward with a smile. She held out her hand, "I'm Erin, daughter of Ceres."

Apollo smiled and took her hand. He placed a light kiss on her knuckles with a wink, "With beauty such as yours, I would have expected your mother to be Venus."

I rolled my eyes at pick-up line but Erin just started giggling. Before she could respond, a waiter came to tell us our table was ready. Everyone started filling in. I stayed behind while everyone else went in. I needed to have a word with Apollo.

Erin looked at the god of music with a smile, "Are you going to join us Freddy?"

I snorted at the nickname. Erin gave me a dirty look but Apollo ignored me, "I would love to."

Erin smiled and started to lead him inside.

I coughed to catch his attention, "Hey Fred, can I talk to you for a minute first?"

Apollo looked back at me and nodded, "Of course." Erin started to pout. The god of the sun winked at her, "I will see you inside."

She reluctantly let go but gave him a smile, "I will save you a seat."

Reyna gave me a questioning look but I waved her off, "Tell Annabeth I will be there in a minute."

She nodded and led her friend inside.

There were too many people still in front of the restaurant so I lead Apollo to a park a little ways away. It was small enough that it was nearly empty. I sat down on a bench and Apollo followed suit.

"So what did you need?"

I shuffled a little. It sounded so pathetic but the food thing really bothered me. "Is there anything I can do about food?"

Apollo gave me a puzzled look. "You're going to need to be a little clearer about what you're talking about."

I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck. "It's because of breakfast this morning. Annabeth made me blue pancakes and I went to eat them but..." I trailed off, uncertain of how to word it.

Apollo's eyes widened in understanding and he smiled, "You weren't hungry were you."

I sighed and shook my head, "Not at all. I really wanted to eat them but it just... I don't know. They didn't make my stomach grumble like they always do. I remembered that you said something about food but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was. Is there some way that I can eat normal food again?"

Apollo laughed and shook his head. "That's what you get for not paying attention when a god is talking to you."

I felt my eyebrows pull together. "What are you talking about? What did you say?"

He gave me a playful smirk. "Why should I tell you if you just ignore my wisdom?" I pouted and gave him my best pleading look. He just laughed and shook his head. "What I said was that mortal food offers no health benefits what so ever to gods, but that doesn't mean that you can't eat it. Lots of us do. We may not need it but mortal food is delicious."

I felt a smile split across my face, "Really?"

Apollo nodded, "Of course. Just look at Demeter and her obsession over cereal."

I felt a huge bubble of relief bloom in my chest. _I will never have to miss blue pancakes again..._

I was in such a good mood that I felt the urge to tease Apollo. "Speaking of Demeter, it seems that you were getting along very well with her daughter."

Apollo shrugged, completely unrepentant. "What can I say, she's kind of cute."

I snorted, "Oh really? What happened to 'so beautiful that her mother must be Aphrodite'?"

The god of music coughed and changed the subject, "Come on. We should be getting back to the restaurant."

I stood up beside him and gave him my best flirtatious smile, "Sure thing **_Freddy_**."

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo POV**

The meal was ambrosia after four days of dried food. It may have been just a burger and fries but I swear that it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. Even better, none of the people at the table were my children.

It had been supremely uncomfortable earlier in the day. One of my daughters had begun shamelessly flirting with me. I had seized upon the opportunity to go and see if Percy was alright. I still didn't know what had him looking so uncomfortable but I was secretly quite happy for it.

Erin had been flirting with me since the moment I had sat down. I smiled at her and flirted back but I wasn't really interested. She was cute but she wasn't really my type. I had only started flirting with her because I saw my daughter about to approach me again. That was one interaction that I was anxious to never repeat again.

Percy's reactions to Erin's increasingly obvious flirtation techniques were far more amusing to me than the girl. He had teased me the entire walk back to the restaurant. The only reason that I hadn't retaliated was that it was entertaining to me. Every time Erin turned to me he would look over her shoulder and flutter his eyelashes.

I didn't realize that I had lost focus until I noticed Percy snickering at me. I shook my head and looked at Erin. She was watching me with a hopeful look in her eyes.

I racked my brain but I could not for the life of me remember what she had just said. The longer I waited the more disappointed she looked. I didn't want to ask her to repeat what she had said but I was running out of options. She looked let down when Percy finally took pity on me.

He looked at me with a teasing gleam in his eye, "What, too stunned to react? I think everyone else at this table could tell that she was going to ask you out for coffee tonight."

When Erin glanced away for a moment I sent him a grateful look. I looked at the daughter of Ceres and gave her my best disappointed smile, "I'm so sorry. I can't. I just moved in and I need to finish unpacking."

She looked upset but she nodded. "Okay. No worries, some other time then." She turned around and proceeded to ignore me for the duration of the meal.

I was confused by her reaction. I couldn't understand it. I had been prepared to make up excuses for every other date she asked me on. I was used to men and women practically throwing themselves at me. I couldn't remember the last time someone had given up so easily. I caught Percy's eye and raised a brow. He chuckled and mouthed the words 'bad actor'.

I huffed in annoyance and looked away. _Stupid mortal abilities..._


	14. Chapter 14

**So... I was going to work on one of my other ongoing stories but frankly, I decided I wanted to write this one more. LOL Sometimes it's just like that, if I want to write a chapter in a specific story I end up not being able to focus on any other one so I've started just going with it. Hope you enjoy... :-)**

**Starts as Percabeth, will eventually be Percy x Apollo.**

**Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

_November 7th_

**Apollo POV**

By the end of lunch, I was glad to escape the table. Percy's friends were far too curious about me for my own good. _Sometimes I really hate not being able to lie..._

I was very thankful that Percy was there. He was able to deflect most of the attention off of me. It hadn't been 100% successful but I had been able to ignore most of the questions. All I had answered was my age and where I was from. I was physically 21 and Olympus was in New York so therefore I was able to say that I was 21 and from New York.

_Thank my father for technicalities..._

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I watched as Percy said good-bye to his girlfriend and my half-brother. I wasn't certain as to why he was ditching them but I could only assume that meant that he wanted to talk to me, so I chose to wait. As I waited, the daughter of Bellona approached me.

She tried to hide her nerves but I could see them lurking beneath her confident exterior. "So you are..." I raised an eyebrow in question. I knew what she wanted to know but I wanted to hear how she would word it. She frowned a little and straitened her already straight posture. "You are Percy's cousin, aren't you?"

I smiled, impressed by her wording. "Yes."

She nodded as though all of her suspicions had been confirmed, "Please do not hesitate to ask if you require anything my lord."

I shook my head, "It's probably for the best if we drop the lord thing. Only you and Percy know who I really am."

"So how would you like me to address you then?"

I shrugged, "Fred is fine."

She bowed slightly and I had to resist rolling my eyes. "Very well, Fred it shall be."

It was going to be very hard to keep it a secret if she went around bowing every time she saw me. Usually I loved the praise but it made going incognito rather difficult. I saw Percy beginning to walk over to us and I smiled.

One good thing about the children of our Greek-halves, they were not as stuck in formalities as our roman children were. I told Percy to call me Fred and he just went with it. I hadn't even given him permission to drop the Lord title; he had decided to do that on his own. A few hundred years ago I would have been tempted to turn him into a plant for the disrespect but I rather liked Percy's cheeky attitude. It kept things amusing.

He stepped up beside Reyna and gave me a questioning look. Before I could say anything though, the daughter of Bellona answered his silent question. "I was just introducing myself to your cousin. I can tell that you have things to discuss though, I will leave you to it."

We watched her leave before he turned to face me, "She knows doesn't she."

"Yes. She is the only other one who knows who I am."

The son of Poseidon nodded and led the way out of the restaurant.

ΩΩΩ

We were silent as we walked. I could see him getting distracted by the sounds. I decided that it would probably help him focus better if we were speaking, "So what did you need?"

Percy blinked and shook his head to rid himself of whatever he had been thinking about. "Sorry I was lost in thought. What did you say?"

I smiled at him, "You really need to work on that habit of ignoring gods."

Percy smirked, "Well technically you're not a god right now so I can ignore you as much as I want."

I didn't have anything I could say to that so I just rolled my eyes, "So where are we heading exactly?"

Percy froze midstride and looked at me in surprise. I saw a faint blush rush to his face, "I uh... I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention."

It was my turn to smirk, "Don't worry, I could tell you were distracted."

He looked confused, "Really? How?"

I couldn't help but chuckle in amusement, "It was rather obvious. You may have not realized it but you were turning your head like a satellite dish to listen to something else every few seconds."

"I was?"

I nodded. I decided that it would probably help if we went somewhere quieter. "Come on, follow me." I turned around and headed back in the opposite direction. He fell into step beside me.

"So where are we going then?"

I couldn't pass up the perfect opportunity to retaliate against his teasing from earlier. I gave him a suggestive smirk and wiggled my eyebrows, "We're heading back to my place."

Percy blinked in surprise before he smiled. He gave me a fake offended look, "I don't know what type of guy you think I am but I'm not the kind to kiss on a first date."

I gave a dark chuckle and fixed him with a smoldering look, "That's fine considering we haven't gone on a first date yet."

The young god couldn't keep it together any longer. He burst into laughter. I winched slightly at the volume before I joined in. The people around us were either cringing at the noise or giving us strange looks but, to my surprise, I didn't mind. It was a surprising amount of fun to tease Percy. His reactions were highly amusing.

ΩΩΩ

**Percy POV**

Apollo was surprisingly good company. The more time I spent with him, the more I could tell that we were going to become great friends.

His apartment building was only a few blocks away from the house I was living in. I remembered passing the building on our way to the new temple field. I was a little surprised that a god would live in an apartment rather than a house but once I saw the inside, I could understand. His one bedroom apartment was bigger than my mom's three bedroom one.

The entryway opened up onto a big dining room and open kitchen. The living room was a step down from the rest of the apartment. His living room had a large wood burning fireplace and several comfy looking couches. The hallway had three doors. One door lead to an office of sorts but instead of a desk, there were a few bookshelves full of poetry books and nearly every instrument I had ever heard of, and even a few I hadn't. The second door led to a bathroom bigger than my entire room back at my mom's place. The last door led to his bedroom. I briefly glanced in it. The only things I really noticed were a big closet and an even bigger bed. His room was done in the same red and gold theme as the one in his palace had been.

I headed back to the living room and dropped down onto the couch across from Apollo. I was surprised that the couches were even more comfortable then they looked. I smiled and reclined further into the sofa.

I looked around the room and shook my head. Everything seemed to already be unpacked. "How exactly are you already moved in?"

Apollo shrugged, "I only had a few dozen boxes to unpack. It didn't take very long. So how is your unpacking coming?" I grimaced as I thought about all of the boxes still waiting for me back at the house. Apollo chuckled, "That good hey?"

I blushed, "I meant to do it today but we ended up heading out first thing."

The sun god raised a brow and smirked. "Well if you really want to go unpack, I'm sure that if you headed back now you'd be finished before bed."

I chuckled. "Nah, I'm okay. Besides, it's probably best if we spend the time discussing your back-story."

The god of music gave me a look of confusion, "My back-story?"

I nodded and sat up straighter. "People are going to be asking you questions. I already had to tell Annabeth and Jason a few things about you so it would be best if you knew them too."

ΩΩΩ

**Apollo POV**

I didn't know what to think of Percy's idea. I could understand the necessity for it but being able to answer questions without lying would be difficult. I was really nervous as to what Percy had told the other two. What he said would have a major impact on whether or not I could use the answers.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Very well, what did you tell them?"

"Well first off, they wanted to know if you were a demigod or not. I figured since you are the equivalent of one that was close enough to the truth."

I nodded, that one I could use. "What else?"

"They wanted to know who your godly parent was so I told them you're a child of Apollo."

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands, "I cannot say that. Why couldn't you say a child of Zeus?"

"Everyone knows that Jason is the only living half-blood son of Zeus. Plus if you were a half-blood child of Zeus you'd be older than me, which would mean that the great prophecy would have been about you, not me."

That was true but I still didn't help me.

I propped up my chin on my hand. "Percy, I can't lie. How exactly am I supposed to tell people that I am my own child?"

The son of Poseidon gave me a devious smirk, "You can't. What you can say though, is that your father is a god and when they ask which one you can say that you are the bloodline of Apollo."

I felt my eyes widen in surprise, "That... that could work." Percy gave me a smug look and I shook my head, "How did you come up with it though?"

The young god looked offended. "Hey, I have good ideas once in a while too."

I chuckled, "Apparently."

The son of the sea god stuck his tongue out at me. I started to laugh.

"You defeated Kronos and Gaia, fell into Tartarus, and obtained godhood, yet you still stick your tongue out at people?" Percy blushed and looked away. If the color of his cheeks was any indication, he was close to dying of embarrassment. I shook my head in amusement but decided to change topics, "What else do I need to know about me?"

Percy coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not much, the only other thing I told them is that you have a sister."

I nodded, "Fair enough. Did you tell them her real name?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "Yes. I told them you are related to Apollo and then told them your sister's name is Artemis. There's no way that say Annabeth, who is the daughter of Athena, could ever put that together with the fact that you weren't at the council meeting and figure out that you were stripped of godhood. Even I'm not that dumb."

"Then what did you tell them?"

The son of the sea god coughed, "If anyone asks, her name is Missy."

I burst out in laughter. "Oh gods, you better hope she never finds out. Why would you name her Missy?"

The son of Poseidon's blush returned full force, "Well I was going to say Arty but I couldn't think of anything that Arty could be short for. Missy however, could be a full name."

I was touched by the amount of thought that he had put into his answers. I smiled at the young god, "You really thought this out. I appreciate it. So much in fact, that I won't tell Artemis that you named her Missy."

ΩΩΩ

We ended up spending a few more hours talking. It was surprisingly easy to lose track of time when talking with him. I was shocked when I looked at the clock and read that it was already 11 at night.

Percy's eyes widened when I told him what time it was. He stood up. "I'd better get going. I had no idea it was already so late. Annabeth is going to kill me."

I nodded and walked him to the door so that I could lock it behind him. "Have a good evening Percy."

He smiled at me, "You too Apollo. See you later."

My apartment seemed much quieter after he had left. As I got ready and lay down in bed, I thought about the afternoon. I was surprised how much I enjoyed spending time with him. He had such a unique way of thinking. I actually took great pleasure in the time we spent together.

I found myself looking forward to the next time we could hang out.


End file.
